NAIROBI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Kenya rugby sevens head coach Paul Murunga on Thursday urged his team to rise to the occasion in London and Paris and secure maximum points to avoid relegation from the World Series.
Ahead of their tour of London on Saturday, the Kenyan team sits in position 13 with 26 points, one above Wales while Japan occupies the red zone, the last and relegation spot with 22 points.
Only four points separate Kenya, Wales and Japan in the bottom three so there is everything to play for in London.
The relegated team will be replaced by Ireland, who secured core team status for the World Sevens Series 2020 by winning the qualifier event in Hong Kong City in April.
"I have always trusted this group of players to deliver against the odds. London and Paris is a delicate situation for us as we need to ensure we retain our core status in the Series. I'm however confident that this team will deliver," said Murunga.
Team captain Jacob Ojee also remained hopeful to lead his charges to retain Kenya's sit among the sevens rugby elite table.
"Despite the challenges and absence of some key players over stalled contract negotiations, I take it as a blessing in disguise given the fact that the team that was selected to represent the country has stepped up. We are hopeful that our performance will be enough to sustain our team at the higher level," said Ojee.
Kenya launched their London campaign on Saturday against Fiji, before playing Samoa and wrap up their day one action against France.
London Sevens will have a great impact on the race for Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualification as leaders the United States, Fiji, New Zealand, South Africa and England all chase the automatic ticket.
The best four teams will qualify automatically and the rest are required to go through regional tournaments.
