KEEPING UP THE PACE: Kenya reach main quarters after running over Russia and Scotland in Sydney

RUGBYU-SEVENS-ENG-KEN Dan Norton (L) of England tackles Billy Odhiambo of Kenya during their rugby match of the Dubai leg of IRB's Sevens World Series on December 4, 2015. AFP PHOTO / MARWAN NAAMANI

Kenya National Sevens team again showed an improved performance in the World Rugby Sevens Series by qualifying for the Main Cup quarterfinals on the first day of the Sydney leg.

Kenya started their campaign yesterday morning by convincingly beating Russia 24-10, fighting tooth and nail for a 17-14 victory over Scotland,  and lost 26-19 to South Africa in a competitive Pool B.

The results saw Kenya finish second in the group, thereby qualifying for the Main Cup quarterfinals and were due to play Fiji at 03.57 this morning. Fiji had topped pool C after beating Samoa 31-0, France 49-5 and Argentina 19-14.

The team seems to have got their groove back since Benjamin Ayimba took over the reins. Players such as Oscar Ouma and Willy Ambaka have particularly adapted well to his system and were instrumental in the results posted yesterday.

Ouma was a force to reckon with, showing no fear in taking the ball forward which helped him score two tries against Russia, and whenever he could not get through the defensive line, his offloads were instrumental to feeding breaks for Oscar Ayodi or Ambaka, who reached a 50-try milestone during the game against Russia.

Even though the team is now showing some consistency, its underbelly was still exposed in their games against Scotland and South Africa, where players were easily caught on the back-foot for every turn-over or lost possession in contact situations.

Ayimba's best chances are to ensure his side keep the ball at hand, given that he has proven the speed of Ambaka, Collins Injera, Ayodi and Billy Odhiambo is the secret to Kenya's current form.

As opposed to previous regimes where the coaches attempted for incremental gains in the pitch, where many phases of ball play were used to gain meters, Kenya is currently just looking for holes in the defence with the individual who gets the loophole allowed to do the full sprint down the pitch.

This has allowed powerful runners to thrive, a characteristic of what Ayimba claims to be the Kenyan way of playing.

This is a less physical type of play and works to Kenya's strengths, however it becomes increasingly difficult when they get patient defensive players, who do not shoot up to them and instead keep their defensive lines.

As the team finishes its Sydney games today, it will be hoping to rise in the ranking from the eighth position it was before the games.