AIMING HIGH: Namcos eyes an improved performance as Wanyama, Ayodi return

South Africa's Justin Geduld, right, fends off Kenya's Daniel Sikuta during their match at the World Rugby Sevens Series tournament in Sydney, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Kenya Sevens coach Innocent 'Namcos' Simiyu is expecting an improved performance from his side when the team leaves tomorrow for the fifth leg of the IRB Series in Las Vegas, USA.

The Sevens team will proceed to Vancouver, Canada, for the sixth leg hoping to improve on its current placing.

Kenya lie 11th on the World Series overall standings after garnering a paltry 27 points from their first four opening legs in Dubai (5), Cape Town (12), Wellington (8) and Sydney (2).

The Singapore champions face a tricky test against familiar foes New Zealand, Argentina and Russia in Pool C of the Las Vegas round.

Simiyu has made a few changes to the squad that last featured in Australia, recalling the duo of Frank Wanyama and Oscar Ayodi, who is in line of his first series appearance this season, for the injured Oscar Ouma and Brian Tanga.

Despite enjoying massive support in Las Vegas, Simiyu has challenged his players to rediscover their ruthless edge as they target 20 points from the two legs.

"Ouma got injured, so we had to get his replacement. Wanyama and Ayodi have both responded well to training and made the final cut. For us to get consistency in terms of performance and manage some of the big games you need to have a right combination," said Simiyu after naming his final 12-man squad at the RFUEA Grounds yesterday.

"We are in an exciting pool in Vegas and look forward to qualifying and challenging for the cup. But I believe playing in Las Vegas has always been good for us because it is like playing at home. I think we will take that as positive for us and hope to get our game back and perform well," added the coach.

"We of course hope to improve in both Vegas and Sydney legs. We had a bad game one in Wellington, which of course determined our Cup fate. But we managed to get some good points there with a firing rate of 3.5 per game. We were in a tough pool in Sydney, but our firing was 1.6. So, my target in this tour is to get back our firing power. We need to up our firing, once we sort that we are ready to go."

Asked if the recent resignation of strength and conditioning coach Ian Gibbons affected the team's preparation, the former national sevens and fifteens team captain said:

"Gibbons' resignation was quite unfortunate, but we understand from his perspective because he has to make decisions regarding to his career and family. We respect that decision. But we have a lot of continuity plans to ensure that we keep everything right in this area. Of course we miss his expertise but from the team's perspective we are comfortable that area is going in the right direction as both 15s and women's team S&C coaches have stepped in."