*Undated
Shujaa kicks off the second leg of the Dubai sevens on Friday 3rd December morning against Australia at 8:44am EAT. In the second match, they’ll go up against USA Rugby at 1:20pm before wrapping up their day one action against Canada at 4:46pm EAT.
Speaking after the Wednesday training session, Head Coach Innocent Simiyu said they are satisfied with the team’s overall performance. “We have a long season ahead culminating with the World Cup and we believe we have a very good platform to build on."
He added that the preparations this week have been largely centered around player recovery as they build up to the second Dubai sevens weekend.
The tactician added that the team had opportunities to put the team to the sword but failed to capitalize on the chances created. “Our attack looked predictable. We need to mix it up and look at maximizing those opportunities to score tries,” said Simiyu.
“We’ve also addressed a few areas of concern in our game around our attacking shape, kick off and possession. Our key target leading up to this tournament is to improve on our performance across the board and hopefully we can get better results from that.” he concluded.
Skipper Nelson Oyoo expressed confidence that they would turn around the fortunes in the next leg. “The boys know they can play better and we are confident we can get good results," added Oyoo.
Shujaa reached the cup quarterfinals at the opening round of the series in Dubai, making it out of their pool as one of the two best third placed teams before a 19-5 quarterfinal loss to Fiji and further losses to Great Britain and Ireland saw Innocent Simiyu’s charges finish eighth overall, a result that sees them placed in a similar position on the overall series rankings.
Shujaa in eighth position overall in the first leg last weekend, bagged 10 points but looked out of sorts during the two-day tournament. They won a single match against Spain and lost five.
Meanwhile, Shujaa will play the second tournament in Dubai minus playmaker Levi Amunga who has returned to Nairobi to honor academic commitments. Amunga featured in the first leg.
Shujaa squad in Dubai:
Nelson Oyoo (Topfry Nakuru, captain), Herman Humwa (Kenya Harlequin), Alvin Otieno (KCB), Johnstone Olindi (KCB),Billy Odhiambo (Mwamba), Daniel Taabu (Mwamba), Tony Omondi* (Mwamba), Bush Mwale (Homeboyz), Jeff Oluoch (Homeboyz),Alvin Marube (Impala Saracens), Edmund Anya (Impala Saracens), Timothy Mmasi (Masinde Muliro), Kelvin Wekesa* (Kabras Sugar)