France 7s will be the penultimate stop to the men’s HSBC rugby 7s 2023 series and could prove to be a critical test for the Kenya 7s team, Shujaa as they seek to avoid relegation from the elite rugby series.
The 12th, 13th, and 14th ranked teams at the end of France 7s hosted in Toulouse, will join the winners of the Challenger Series 2023 in a four-team relegation play-off at the final round in London.
Kenya, who are currently ranked 13th can escape the play-off if they win bronze in Toulouse and Uruguay and Spain who are ranked 11th and 12th respectively, finish in the bottom four.
Shujaa Head Coach Damian McGrath while naming his 15-man travelling squad at Kasarani said they had picked a solid and experienced squad, fully understanding what was at stake for the team in the final two rounds.
“We’ve picked a very solid and experienced squad, it’s as experienced as we could get. The boys all understand what’s at stake, and we are just going to play to our best. The key to it all is can we eradicate our own mistakes which has been our Achilles heel. We’ve got a very simple plan that we hope suits what we have and we’ll try and follow it through”, he said.
Kenya is placed in Pool A alongside Uruguay, New Zealand and Canada.
They face Uruguay at 2.07 Pm in their opening match and New Zealand in their second match at 7.16 Pm in Toulouse on Friday 12 May. Their final Group A match will be against Canada at 1.21 Pm on Saturday 13 May.
Kenya Shujaa Points Per Series: Singapore – 7 points, Hong Kong – 1 point, Vancouver – 7 points, Los Angeles – 1 point, Sydney – 5 points, Hamilton – 7 points, Cape Town – 3 points, Dubai – 5 points and Hong Kong
Shujaa points after 9 series = 37 Points
Shujaa squad: Nelson Oyoo (Captain), Herman Humwa, Edmund Anya, Brian Tanga, Johnstone Olindi, Alvin Otieno, Kevin Wekesa, Jeff Oluoch, John Okoth, George Ooro, Daniel Taabu, Denis Abukuse, Billy Odhiambo, Ronaldo Omondi, Tony Omondi
