No need to hit panic button: Namcos to cope with duo’s absence, recalls Billy ‘The Kid’

Kenya Sevens rugby player Willy Ambaka in past action at Kasarani Stadium. [Dennis Okeyo, Standard]

Kenya Sevens national team coach Innocent ‘Namcos’ Simiyu believes the last-minute withdrawal of Kenya Harlequin winger Willy Ambaka and Kabras Sugar forward Dan Sikuta from the team will not affect their performance in the Hong Kong and Singapore legs of the 2016/17 HSBC Sevens World Series.

The Singapore champions left for Hong Kong on Monday morning with only 11 players ahead of the seventh leg that kicks off today.

But Ambaka, who is rumoured to be in New Zealand chasing a professional deal with an unnamed club, has already been replaced by the explosive Mwamba winger Billy Odhiambo as Kenya Rugby Union ponders disciplinary action against Kabras for allegedly influencing Sikuta’s withdrawal from the squad.

Odhiambo left Nairobi yesterday morning and was expected to link up with the rest last evening ahead of their Pool B opening match against Canada today (3:18pm).

Shujaa, who currently sit 12th on the IRB log with 40 points, will complete their pool matches tomorrow. Their second pool match will be against series leaders South Africa at 8:56am, before playing France at 12:34pm in their last group match.

However, with a plethora of options at his disposal, the former Kenya Sevens and 15s captain will have to cope with Ambaka and Sikuta’s absence. Their absence will no doubt be felt.

“We are hoping to do a bit of adaptation in terms of positions for us to cover these gaps. We have to make use of the resources at our disposal.

"There are some players who will double up in some positions,” said Simiyu.

“Collins (Injera), with his experience, can play either on the wing or centre, Sammy (Oliech) can play at any position, from fly half to wing, Bush (Mwale) can also play as a centre or hooker... We are trying to adapt, but players need to cover at least two positions. That is what we will do to mitigate the absence of the two forwards.”

Asked if they have a chance to qualify for the quarter-finals after many misses this season, Simiyu said; “We have an interesting pool. I think we have a good chance of qualifying for the cup quarters because if you look at South Africa, we have come close on two occasions.

“We’ve beaten France twice and lost once. We have also beaten Canada once and lost once. I think it is a good pool. We have a good shot. Hopefully, we can execute our strategy on the match day and come up with victories. We must remain focused and everything will fall in place."