Safaricom Sevens: Kenya National Sevens Coach Treu blames 'Cheap mistakes' for Shujaa loss

Kenya Sevens team head coach Paul Treu follows the action during the Safaricom Sevens tourney at Kasarani. [PHOTO: DENNIS OKEYO]

Kenya National Sevens Coach Paul Treu has blamed 'cheap mistakes' for the national team Shujaa's poor performance in the just-concluded Safaricom Sevens.

Speaking after Shujaa and Chairman Select were knocked out of contention for the Main Cup title, Treu claimed both sides were rightfully punished for making a lot of mistakes in the tournament.

"This is a young team and understandably they made many mistakes in both days of the tournament. I think as they continue to gain experience, the mistakes will reduce and the side will be much solid and better," he said.

"Shujaa have received valuable exposure from the Safaricom Sevens, because this tournament showed the team the calibre of competition they should be expecting when they go out there," he explained. "The experience will be of valuable assistance in our preparation for the Gold Coast Sevens in Australia."

"We will be travelling later this week to the first leg of the International Rugby Board Sevens Circuit and we have been shown some of the key areas that we need to address before we embark on the games."

"We need to keep better possession of the ball, but most importantly, we need to have the possession when we are in the right territories of the pitch. We also showed some good defending at different intervals of the tournament, but we can still do better," he added.

The South Africa coach expressed confidence in the team.

"Some of the players have given a great account of themselves and I believe they have shown they have what it takes to represent Kenya for the IRB World Series circuit," he added.

Treu is due to name his squad for the IRB World Series on Wednesday and has hinted he will heavily rely on the players who have taken part in the Safaricom Sevens.