NAIROBI, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Sevens rugby head coach Innocent Simiyu has called on his chargers (known as the Shujaa) to make faster decisions on the ball ahead of their Commonwealth Games outing, as well as at the seventh and eighth rounds of the HSBC World Series.
The team has a busy tour, departing Nairobi on Sunday for the April 6-8 Hong Kong 7s before travelling to Gold Coast for the Club Games (April 13-15) after which they will check in for the Singapore 7s on the weekend of April 28 and 29.
Kenya, who reached the final of the last leg of the series in Canada, have been drawn in Pool B of the Cathy Pacific Hong Kong 7s, alongside Sydney 7s champions Australia, Spain and Canada.
The Shujaa are also seeking a first medal at the Commonwealth Games after losing to New Zealand 19-7 at the quarterfinals of the Glasgow 2014 edition, and have a chance of avenging that defeat in Gold Coast when they take on the All Blacks 7s in Pool C of the competition.
Once more, Canada and African rivals Zambia round of the group with Simiyu hoping to top the pool on his first assignment at the Club Games since taking charge of the squad last season.
Speaking after naming his squad on Thursday in Nairobi, the former Kenya 7s and Kenya 15s captain tipped his two new additions to the squad that did duty at the Las Vegas and Canada 7s (debutant Ian Minjire and the returning Augustine Lugonzo) to bolster his team.
"The new call-ups have been training and playing well in various tournaments and we have always believed in picking players when their tails are up. I'm quite happy with what Minjire brings to the table and his aerial prowess will be an added advantage to the team as we prepare to give it our best in Australia for the Commonwealth Games," Simiyu noted.
The Shujaa coach rallied his side to make better use of the ball in a similar fashion to their Canada outing where they fell short at the last hurdle to Fiji with a chance of reclaiming the Singapore 7s title they famously won in 2016.
"They should also improve on tackle completion. The team is good on breakdowns but there are always things to work on," he stated.
"We dominate at kick-offs and the experience Lugonzo brings to the team will be critical in maintaining the advantage," he added.
Simiyu says he is not worried about the short turnaround time between the three assignments, maintaining they would assess the squad at the end of each competition to determine whether there is need to reinforce or retain the touring players.
The Shujaa head coach added that rotation would be key as the team aims to give their best performance in the forthcoming triple-header to build momentum ahead of the July Rugby Sevens World Cup in San Francisco.
Oscar Ouma, who plies his trade for local club Top Fry Nakuru RFC with Samuel Oliech of Resolution Impala Saracens deputizing, will skipper the side in Gold Coast.
Shujaa are ranked eight in the 2017/18 HSBC standings on 64 points, four less than they accrued for the entire 10-leg circuit last term in a marked improvement on Simiyu's second season in charge.
