Ayimba defends Kenya 7s squad rotation policy

Kenya Sevens Head Coach, Benjamin Ayimba, has backed his squad rotation policy that was heavily criticized following Kenya’s 33-0 defeat to England in the Plate semi-finals of the Hong Kong 7s saying it will eventually pay-off at the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio.

Speaking on the defeat at the hands of the ruthless Three Lions in the seventh round of the HSBC World Series this season, Ayimba called on fans to be patient with his team as they try building a strong side.

“I already have an idea of how the final squad of the 2016 Olympics is going to look like. It’s important that we expose as many players as possible to the big events as we shape up a final team that will represent the country in August. Building a strong team is a process so it’s only normal that sometimes you’ll slip along the way,” he stated.

Shujaa collected 10 points in Hong Kong to remain stuck in eighth on 63 points ahead of the inaugural Singapore Sevens next weekend.

Despite the performance, Ayimba was quick to point out positives from the tournament citing an apparent improvement in the team’s defensive play.

“Over the past four seasons we have been conceding a lot. The boys were more defensively disciplined in Hong Kong so if we can keep letting in less and less points against us we will definitely win more games,” he said.

His sentiments were echoed by the team’s Vice-Captain Collins Injera who has now scored 221 tries and is on the verge of breaking the 230 tries record currently held by Argentinean Santiago Gomez.

“One thing that was positive in this tournament was our defense, apart from the last game were we had some lapses, but all in all our defense has improved a lot and I hope in Singapore we are going to build on that,” he added.

Kenya have been placed in Pool C alongside Russia, Scotland and South Africa and Ayimba is already fixated on ensuring his boys step up their performance.

‘’We are going to look for more points in Singapore, we want to get more than ten points, we got to the Plate semifinals here (Hong Kong ) and our aim is to get to the main cup semi-finals in Singapore and that will be good progress for us,” he stressed.

Fiji won the overall title, mauling the mighty All Blacks in the final 21-7  while South Africa finished third after beating Australia 14 -12 in the play offs.