Rugby Sevens coach calls six rookies for Gold Coast leg
Six players are set to debut with Kenya Sevens in the IRB World Sevens Series opening leg of Gold Coast on October 11-12 in Australia.
Jacob Ojee and Oliver Mang’eni of Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and Augustine Lugonzo, Bush Mwale and Michael Wanjala from Homeboyz will earn their first international capping in Gold Coast.
Kenya Sevens coach Paul Treu also handed Under-19 international Alex Olaba from Strathmore Leos his maiden IRB World Sevens Series, retaining Andrew Amonde as his captain.
Ojee was the top try scorer and most valuable player at the recently concluded Safaricom National Sevens Series while Lugonzo was top points scorer in the same competition.
Olaba featured for Kenya at the recent Youth Olympics Rugby Sevens Competition in Nanjing, China and the Confederation of Africa Rugby (CAR) Under-19 Championships in Namibia where they settled for silver after losing to the hosts in the final.
“It’s very exciting to represent Kenya at that level and I hope not to disappoint,” said the 18-year-old Olaba, former Alliance High school player. “It’s a tough calling but I am prepared.”
Treu side that faces a tough outing in Gold Coast by virtue of having virtually a new side, has five players with previous series experience. They include Fabian Olando, Davis Chenge, Max Theuri, Cyprian Kuto and Leonard Mugaisi.
SENIOR PLAYERS MISSING
The team will be missing 10 regular senior players who were kicked out before Safaricom Safari Sevens after they boycotted training over new contracts based on performance, medical cover and new fines.
The players had also demanded to be paid appearance fee and upfront bonuses before taking part at Safaricom Safari Sevens.
Those sidelined are Collins Injera, Horace Otieno, Dennis Ombachi, Dan Sikuta and Michael Agevi from Mwamba, Nondescript’s Biko Adema and Impala’s Sam Oliech.
Others are Tony Owuor, Billy Odhiambo and Michael Wanjala from Strathmore and Harlequins’ Patrice Agunda.
Treu said he has managed to select a young, but exciting mix of players from the recently concluded National Sevens Series and the Safaricom Safari Sevens.
“As we are heading into the Olympic qualifying season, we are under no illusion that it will be a massive challenge for our young players to firstly find their feet and secondly, to keep striving for excellence,” said Treu.
The team that resumes training Thursday after taking a break after Safaricom Safari Sevens last weekend is due to leave the country in the evening for a training camp in Johannesburg, South Africa.
They will leave on Monday for Gold Coast where they will take on South Africa, Wales and American Samoa in Pool B.
Last season, Kenya lost to Fiji 0-36 in the Plate final at the Gold Coast Sevens. They had beaten Tonga and USA 38-0 and 31-5 respectively before losing to New Zealand 0-31 in the preliminaries. They would lose to Australia 12-24 in the Cup quarters to drop to Plate where they edged out Wales 12-7 in the semis.
