Shujaa squad to Dubai to be named today

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

The national Sevens squad that will compete at the opening two rounds of the 2018-19 HSBC World Sevens Series will be named today at the Kenya Rugby Union headquarters, Nairobi.

The first round, Dubai Sevens, kicks off next weekend while the Cape Town leg will take place one week later.

According to head coach Paul Murunga, the team will be largely comprised of players who featured for the two Kenyan national sides, Shujaa and Morans, during the Safari Sevens two weeks ago.

“Most of the players are young and new into the system. We hope they can form a formidable combination with their senior counterparts so that we can have a solid team as we start the new season,” Murunga told The Standard Sports after overseeing the team’s training session yesterday.

Shujaa, under Murunga’s predecessor Innocent Simiyu, accumulated a record 104 points over 10 rounds last season and the former Homeboyz coach is not keen on surpassing that tally.

“Beating last season’s point tally is not among our key priorities. It will only be a bonus because it does not help us much in terms of where we intend to be as a national team.”

“My aim is to ensure we build a solid team that will compete favourably in the Sevens Series and other future tournaments like the World Cup and Commonwealth Games,” Murunga said.

In Dubai, Murunga’s side is in pool B alongside last season’s series runner-up Fiji, Scotland and France.