Amavubi Stars are well prepared for the regional Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup tournament, which gets underway in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on November 27, Head Coach Eric Nshimiyimana has said.

The former Amavubi and APR midfielder told Times Sport this week that his guns are raring to go in the regional championships just days after they looked the sharper side in their latest friendly match against Cecafa defending champions Uganda Cranes in Kampala.

The international friendly, played last Saturday, ended goalless, with several Amavubi players guilty of failing to convert clear opportunities.

Both sides had also settled for a 2-2 draw in an earlier friendly in Kigali in February, this year.

Yet Nshimiyimana reckons the boys will have gained a great deal of confidence from the way they played in Kampala. "They cannot be more confident.”

"We are looking forward to the tournament with optimism, we are having good preparations and I believe we will give it our best shot,” he said.

Ironically, Rwanda are drawn in the same group as Uganda, alongside Sudan and Eritrea.

Asked about his assessment of Amavubi’s Group C opponents, the coach said his team was ready for any side.

"Certainly we don’t take anyone for granted, but neither are we intimidated by anyone. We may be wary of an opponent or two but they too may be worried about us,” he said.

On his team’s chances of progressing from the group, Nshimiyimana said: "It’s a difficult but open group, anyone can beat anyone.”

Nshimiyimana has long experience in Cecafa games both as a player and coach.

He said Rwanda’s performance in Cecafa over the years is generally good.

"We may have won the title only once (in 1999) but overall our record in the tournament is not so bad, we have always progressed from the group stage and have also played in a couple of finals but without much success,” he reflected.

Group A has hosts Kenya, Ethiopia, Zanzibar and South Sudan; while Group B consists of Tanzania, Burundi, Somalia and Zambia (guests).

The opening match will be between Kenya and Ethiopia on November 27.

Rwanda will play their first match against Uganda on November 29, then against Sudan three days later before taking on Eritrea on December 5.

Nshimiyimana, then working in an interim capacity, guided Rwanda to the 2009 Cecafa Challenge Cup final in Kenya which the Amavubi Stars lost to Uganda Cranes 2-0.