Godsend for Shujaa as Injera and Odhiambo return

Kenya's Collins Injera runs with the ball during a HSBC Paris Sevens Series rugby match between Kenya and Portugal at the Stade Jean Bouin in Paris on May 12, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / THOMAS SAMSON

Kenya Sevens rugby team has been handed a boost with the duo of Collins Injera and Billy Odhiambo returning to the national team.

The two join ahead of next month’s Las Vegas (2-4) and Vancouver Sevens (10-11) in USA and Canada respectively.

The pair replaces Kabras Sugar half-back Brian Tanga and Homeboyz’ Augustine Lugonzo, who were part of the squad in Sydney and Hamilton.

Tanga is sidelined with an injury while Lugonzo has been excluded from travelling with the squad to attend to personal matters.

Injera, second on the HSBC Sevens World Series all-time try scorers list, has been out of action, nursing a hamstring injury he sustained during the season opener’s leg in Dubai last year.

His Mwamba teammate Odhiambo also made it to coach Innocent 'Namcos' Simiyu’s strong 13-man squad after missing all the opening four legs due to a shoulder injury.

Injera and Odhiambo’s return comes at a perfect time for Simiyu after an impressive show in the last two legs where Shujaa garnered 22 points.

The performance saw the former Singapore champions move one place up (eighth) with 35 points from four legs.

But having been drawn in a relatively tricky Group A of the Las Vegas tournament alongside recently crowned Hamilton winners Fiji, France, and Russia, Simiyu expects the pair to play a key role in their performance for the remainder of the season.

“Injera (Collins) brings a wealth of experience to the team and an added advantage in terms of motivation. We also have Odhiambo (Billy), who is a powerful runner and we managed to work with him during the pre-season. We’re quite interested to see how he will play, this being his first outing this season,’’ said Simiyu. The former Kenya Sevens and Fifteens captain is looking forward to building on the team's Hamilton success in the remaining six legs.