Purring Simiyu sings song of praise for Shujaa

Kenya rugby sevens head coach Innocent Simiyu is happy with his boys’ performance in the just concluded Sydney and Hamilton Series.

Speaking upon the team’s arrival on Tuesday morning from Hamilton, where they finished sixth, garnering 12 points, Simiyu said he was impressed with Shujaa’s performance, noting that it was a good platform as they continue with the season.

At the same time, Simiyu praised the young blood in the squad after displaying an outstanding performance in Sydney and Hamilton.

Eric Ombasa, a Menengai Oilers flyer showcased good foot-work in the outings and Simiyu believes that he is a valuable addition to the squad.

“For us, the younger boys played very well especially Eric Ombasa who showed us some good foot works when we had the ball, I think he has a bright future and we hope that in the competitions he will improve and play better,” Simiyu, fondly known as Namcos in rugby circles, said.

On his part, captain Oscar Ouma believes that they are on the right track of attaining their target.

“The tournament was good. We came back with 22 points meaning our target is still within reach.You must bear in mind that in Cape Town we had a deficit of seven points so by gaining two we remain with a deficit of five, which we will work towards in the upcoming rounds of HSBC World Series,”  Ouma, who was handed the arm-band, replacing the lanky Oscar Ayodi who is sidelined with a knee injury, said.

At the start of the season, Kenya’s target was to attain 100 points of which they have a deficit of five after four rounds.

Ayodi, the Nakuru Top Fry flanker added: “Our goal still remains the same, 100 series points at the end of the season.We are on the right track having attained 35 with six rounds still to go.”

Kenya is drawn in pool A alongside Hamilton champions Fiji, France, and Russia in the Las Vegas Sevens which takes place between March 3-5.

Meanwhile, the team is set to resume training on Monday after a hectic schedule that has seen them cover thousands of miles flying from Nairobi to Sydney then to Hamilton in New Zealand.

“We plan to resume training on Monday because we have a short time in our hands; it’s just two weeks left before the next round. The aim is to fine tune on our grey areas so that we can perform better in Vegas,” Said Simiyu.