Rugby: Shujaa resume training ahead of World Sevens Series

Collins Injera of Kenya Sevens on way to scoring a try against Zambia during their Tusker Safari Sevens 2019 match at RFUEA Grounds on October 19, 2019. Shujaa won 31-0. Photo/Stafford Ondego/www.sportpicha.com

The Kenyan speedster has shaken off a shoulder injury that ruled him out of the 2020 Olympic qualifiers.

The Kenya men’s rugby Sevens team, Shujaa have been boosted by the return of Collins Injera ahead of next month’s Dubai Sevens, the opening round of the 2019-20 World Sevens Series.

The Mwamba Rugby Club speedster has recovered from a shoulder injury he picked at the Safari Sevens last month where he was making his first appearance for Shujaa since the 2018 Sevens World Cup in the USA.

Injera, Shujaa’s all-time leading try scorer, missed the Africa Sevens-cum-2020 Olympic qualifiers where Kenya punched the Ticket to Tokyo with an emphatic 31-0 win over Uganda in the final and according to head coach Paul Feeney, the 33-year-old  is now up for selection for the Dubai and Cape Town assignments.

“He should be back for Dubai because he has been rehabbing well. He has been passing on his knowledge to the rest of the team and that is helping the boys a lot. The captain (Andrew Amonde)  and vice captains (Jeffrey Oluoch and Jacob Ojee) also have massive input because of their experience,” said Feeney.

Injera is among a host of senior players who opted to return to the team after staying away for the entire 2018-19 season owing to a contractual wrangle with the Kenya Rugby Union.

Should Injera be selected for the Dubai event, he will make his first appearance in the World Sevens Series in over a year having last featured at the 2018 season-ending Paris Sevens in France.

The Dubai Sevens is slated for December 5-7 before teams head to Cape Town, South Africa one week later for the second round of the 10-legged Series.

Shujaa, who will be looking to redeem themselves after a disastrous campaign in the 2018-19 World Sevens Series, resumed training yesterday following a one-week break.

Feeney is expected to name his travelling squad to Dubai and Cape Town next week with a good number of players who featured at the Olympic qualifiers likely to make the cut. 

Kenya, who survived relegation by a whisker after finishing 13th last season with a paltry 37 points, are in a tough pool D at the Dubai tournament where they will face 2017-18 Series champions South Africa, England and Spain.