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The Nairobian

Shujaa face tough test in Hong Kong Sevens today

Rugby

By Clement Wekulo | Apr 05, 2019

Kenya Sevens captain Jeffrey Oluoch is confident Shujaa will reach the Cup quarterfinals at the Hong Kong Sevens which starts today.

The team heads to the tournament having been strengthened by the return of six of its senior players who had boycotted duty over contractual wrangles with the Kenya Rugby Union.

Former skipper Andrew Amonde, Augustine Lugonzo, Dan Sikuta and Nelson Oyoo are set for their maiden appearance of the campaign. Eden Agero and Jeffrey Oluoch make a comeback having last donned national colours at the Dubai and Cape Town tournaments last year.

It feels great to be back in the squad after quite some time out. It is also challenging because the expectations will be very high and everyone will be keen to see what we bring to the table, Oluoch said.

Shujaa, who occupy position 14 on the standings, are in a pool C that has Hamilton and Cape Town Sevens champions Fiji as well as New Zealand who bagged gold in Dubai and Sydney. They will also face Australia in the preliminaries.

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Its a tough pool considering those are some of the best teams in the world right now. We just need to take each game at a time and I believe the boys will put their best foot forward and pick maximum points from the pool, Oluoch said.

The Homeboyz forward added that they hope to end the season on a high by reaching the cup quarterfinals in the remaining four legs.

Paul Murunga's charges have their work cut out as they must register at least two wins to stand a chance of securing a last eight berth. They launch their quest against the Fijians today before facing the All Blacks Sevens and Australia tomorrow.

Shujaa has a poor record against the three sides this season as they are yet to beat any of them. They played Australia at the Vancouver Sevens last month, receiving a 47-7 thrashing while Fiji also beat them 36-12 at the same tournament.

From Hong Kong, action heads to Singapore before the final two legs take place in London and Paris. The top four sides at the end of the series will seal automatic qualification to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics while the rest will have to negotiate through continental qualifiers.

Shujaa fixtures in Hong Kong
Today
Versus Fiji - 2:30 pm
Tomorrow
Versus New Zealand - 7:51 am
Versus Australia - 11:33 am
Hong Kong Sevens men's pools
Pool A: South Africa, Samoa, Scotland, Japan
Pool B: France, Argentina, Canada, Portugal
Pool C: Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Kenya
Pool D: USA, England, Wales, Spain