Ray of hope: Shujaa seek to build momentum in Hong Kong

Daniel Sikuta #2 of Kenya is tackled by Gaston Revol #8 of Argentina in the Bowl Final match of the USA Sevens Rugby tournament at Sam Boyd Stadium on February 15, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kenya won 24-21.

Kenya Sevens team head Coach Felix Ochieng’ has described next month’s sixth leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Hong Kong (March 27-29) as exciting but challenging.

Shujaa are in a tricky Pool D alongside Mike Friday’s USA, England and Wales, but after a fairly impressive display in the Wellington and Las Vegas rounds where they reached the Main Cup quarter-finals and won the Bowl respectively, Ochieng’ insists the team will not rest on its laurels.

Speaking on arrival yesterday during a welcome breakfast hosted by Kenya Airways at Ole Sereni Hotel, Ochieng’, who guided the team to the 12th place in the series standings after garnering 18 points from the fourth and fifth legs, said he was impressed with his boys’ performance.

“In Wellington and Las Vegas, we got motivated despite the first defeat and I thank fans for their overwhelming support. It was challenging at the beginning but our aim was to restore our pride,” said Ochieng’.

SHORT TURNAROUND

“It’s a short turnaround and I’ve already seen the passion in the players. This is not the best position for us, but with the good blend of experienced and young players, we are striving to perfection.”

Commenting on the upcoming Hong Kong leg and meeting with Friday, his former boss, Ochieng said: “It’s an exciting Pool for the fans, but challenging for us as any team can progress to the knock-outs. However, it gives us an opportunity to improve. I respect Mike Friday, but hope we will enjoy the game and win. We’ve made progress in the last two legs but we need to work even harder.

“I am glad there is no any injury. I hope we will have a fully fit squad by the time we travel to Hong Hong.”

Captain Andrew Amonde was similarly pleased with the team’s exploits in New Zealand and USA.

“Everybody was comfortable and we gave out more than 100 per cent. The outcome wasn’t our target, but all we wanted was to reclaim our lost glory,” said Amonde.

“As a team, we are ready to play anybody, anytime and anywhere. It’s a much improved team, but we are not satisfied with our current position. We are going back to the drawing board, we will improve on our strengths, rectify our mistakes and move up on the standings.”

And for reaching the quarter-finals, the team was handed a bonus cheque of USD 14,994 USD (Sh1,369,057.16) by KQ’s Human Resource Director Alban Mwendar.

“We want to commend the team for their impressive performance in the last two legs. On behalf of KQ, I would like to congratulate the team for reaching the quarterfinals and winning the Bowl Competition. We’ll continue investing and supporting the Kenya Sevens team,” said Mwendar.

“The 18 points we got in the recent two outings is one of the best performances ever. Despite the internal problems, we’ve proved we can deliver and I thank KQ for sticking by us. Our issues will be sorted out in the next few weeks, we don’t want to be like other wrangling federations,” said Kenya Rugby Union acting Chairman Gabriel Ouko.