Kevin Wambua, the men’s national rugby 7s head coach, will be forced to reorganize his squad for the upcoming 2024 Safari 7s slated to take place from 11-13 October 2024 following injuries to Vincent Onyala, Brian Tanga and John Okoth.
Tanga, who plays for Kabras Sugar RFC, missed the last two outings of the just concluded SportPesa 7s Circuit – Driftwood and Prinsloo 7s – and is now set to be sidelined for the Safari 7s.
Onyala on his part faces a tight race to make the squad after sustaining a knee injury that is expected to keep him out till early next month.
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They duo will join John Okoth from Menegai Oilers who has been ruled out from the tournament following surgery for a tibia injury sustained during the recent Kabeberi 7s.
Shujaa will be aiming to perform strongly at the Safari 7s which will mark their first appearance after finishing ninth in the recent Paris 2024 Olympics where they secured a narrow 10-5 victory over Samoa.
Shujaa beat Samurai 19-0 to lift the title in the 2023 edition and will be eager to replicate that performance in front of their home crowd.
Following the Safari Sevens, the team will make their return to the World Rugby series, starting with the Dubai Sevens from November 29 to December 1 in the United Arab Emirates.
Shujaa win Safari 7s 2023
The second round will take them to Cape Town, South Africa, on December 7-8, before they head to the HBF Park Sevens in Perth on January 24-26, 2025.
The series will continue in Vancouver at BC Place from February 21-23 before a fifth stop in the prestigious Hong Kong Series from March 28-30.
Shujaa regained their core team status during the 2024 Challenger Series final in Madrid, defeating Germany 33-15 on June 2, 2024.
This achievement followed their relegation from the World Series last year after finishing 13th, forcing them to compete in the Challenger Series throughout 2024.
ALSO READ: SportPesa launch revolutionary Tujiamini Initiative to nurture talent
Tujiamini is an initiative that seeks to provide a platform, including up to 30M shillings in funding, for individual, team sports and various talent, in a year-long campaign that will go around the country in a move aimed at evoking the sense of pride in Kenya’s sports and talent ecosystem.
Applicants are urged to submit their applications through www.tujiamini.co.ke