Simiyu calls for good show in Cape Town 7s: Shujaa hoping for good show in Cape Town Sevens

RUGBYU-SIN-SEVENS Frank Wanyama (L) of Kenya runs with the ball against Argentina during day one of Singapore Rugby Sevens tournament on April 15, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / ROSLAN RAHMAN

Kenyans face France and Russia before real test against South Africa.

Kenya will be hoping to improve on last weekend’s performance when the second leg of the 2017-2018 HSBC Sevens World Series kicks off  in Cape Town, today.

Kenya, who finished seventh in the opening round in Dubai Sevens after losing 19-12 to Australia in the fifth place semi-final, have been drawn in Group A against  France, Russia and hosts and tournament’s champions South Africa.

Shujaa will take on France in their first match at 1.27pm before entertaining Russia at 4.48pm. They will then wrap up day one fixtures against the Blitzboks who thrashed them 48-5 in Dubai.

Aware of the task ahead of him, head coach Innocent Simiyu has called on his players to be consistent if they want to achieve their 100 points-mark target.

“Our key focus in Cape Town is to have the boys consistently perform to their full potential and better last year’s cup quarter-final performance,” Simiyu said.

The former national 15s and 7s captain is confident the trio of assistant captain Oscar Ouma, Sam Muregi and Arthur Owira, who linked up with the team as a replacement of the injured duo of Collins Injera (hamstring) and Dennis Ombachi (ankle), will deliver.

”Oscar brings leadership, experience and raw power to our game which will be very vital for a good start in Cape Town,” he said.

“Muregi adds pace to the team,his understanding of the game and try-scoring ability are second to none, while Arthur has had a very good Sevens season with his club KCB and his work-rate on the pitch will help us a lot at the breakdown.”

Simiyu’s sentiment were shared by captain Oscar Ayodi, who challenged the new calls up to prove their worth.

“We are of course in a tricky Group, but our target is to have a better performance than we had in Dubai. We will take one game at a time and see how it goes,” Ayodi said.

“There is no doubt we will miss Injera and Ombachi’s experience in the game, but I know the two rookies can’t wait to show their worth.”