Rugby: Kenya Sevens to renew rivalry with Samoa at Los Angeles Sevens

Shujaa's Kevin Wekesa charges through the USA defense during Singapore Sevens at Singapore National Stadium on in Kallang, Singapore[Courtesy-World Rugby]

Kenya Sevens will renew their rivalry with Samoa at the Los Angeles Sevens set for Saturday next week in the United States of America.

The Los Angeles marks the final leg of the 2021-2022 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series before teams switch attention to the Rugby World Cup set for South Africa next month.

Shujaa are in Group D alongside England, Samoa and Scotland.

They will begin their campaign in North America against Samoa on August 27 at 8.26pm East African Time.

This will be followed by a fixture against England at 11.10pm the same day before rounding off the pool games against Scotland at 2.21am.

Shujaa are currently ranked 13th in the global rankings with 38 points ahead of the final leg of the series.

Since the beginning of the year, Kenya has not gone past the quarterfinal stage after poor results in Malaga, Seville, Singapore, Vancouver, Toulouse and London.

Shujaa has been reduced to whipping boys who are always bullied and thrashed with teams Kenya predominantly used to dominate.

Kenya has collected only one point in their last three consecutive legs in Vancouver, Toulouse and London and head coach Damian McGrath will be hoping for a better show in America.

After an improved performance during the Commonwealth Games played last month in the United Kingdom where Kenya reached the quarterfinals stage, McGrath has made two changes hoping to improve the team.

Jeff Oluoch and Samuel Oliech return to the Shujaa squad, replacing Levi Amunga and Herman Humwa who were part of the squad's last outing - the Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens competition in Birmingham three weeks ago.

Nelson Oyoo will captain the team that includes Kevin Wekesa, Johnstone Olindi, William Ambaka, Alvin Otieno, Billy Odhiambo, Bush Mwale, Daniel Taabu, Vincent Onyala, Anthony Omondi and Edmund Anya.

Shujaa Squad

Nelson Oyoo (captain), Kevin Wekesa, Johnstone Olindi, William Ambaka, Alvin Otieno, Billy Odhiambo, Bush Mwale, Daniel Taabu, Vincent Onyala, Anthony Omondi, Edmund Anya, Jeff Oluoch and Samuel Oliech.

Los Angeles 7s

Pool A: Australia, Spain, Argentina, Japan

Pool B: New Zealand, South Africa, USA, Canada

Pool C: Fiji, Ireland, France, Wales

Pool D: Samoa, England, Scotland, Kenya