Kenya Men's rugby sevens team, Shujaa will once again face USA in the Edmonton 7's. The two teams are slotted in Pool B together with Spain and Chile and will get down to action this weekend, on Saturday 25th September. The squad led by gaffer Innocent Simiyu will kick off their day one action against Chile at 7:53 pm in the second Pool B fixture. At 11:04 pm, they will take on Spain for the second time this season before wrapping up their day against USA 7s at 2:35 pm.
The squad finished second in the just concluded Vancouver circuit more so after
beating Mike Friday's USA 19-14 in the quarter-finals. The Kenyans proved relentless, taking each and every chance to pounce on the Americans. The squad collected 18 points after reaching the Cup final, only for the second time since 2016. In Vancouver, Shujaa lost to South Africa in an all-African final that was played for the second time, with the first being during the 2009 Adelaide 7s.
Head coach Innocent Simiyu is optimistic his charges are up to the task of lifting a second Cup title at Singapore 7s, and he heaped praises on the young players he handed debuts. “The boys responded very well in Vancouver, we were able to tick a few boxes but of course there are a few areas of concern for the team, around the kick-off area and our transition from attack to defense. We are very excited with how the new boys expressed themselves at Vancouver, it being their first HSBC World Sevens Series tournament and it’s a step in the right direction,” Said Simiyu.
“Our boys played very well, especially the new guys who were quite excited with how they expressed themselves being their first tournament with the national team,” Simiyu added.
Shujaa’s schedule at the Edmonton7s:
Saturday 25th September
7:53pm – Shujaa vs Chile
11:04pm – Shujaa vs Spain
2:35am(Sunday 26th) – Shujaa vs USA