Kenya Sevens said the side will be seeking to improve its skillset ahead of the Africa Cup cum Olympic qualifiers later this month in Zimbabwe.
The former Mwamba head coach Kevin Wambua said the two training camps they have undertaken in Nakuru were an eye-opener for the squad.
“We have had successful training camps looking at our various facets of play, where we fell short last season and the boys have responded well,” added Wambua.
Shujaa played against Uganda Select, Menengai Oilers, and Nakuru RFC with Wambua describing the boys’ fitness and skill level as encouraging
“The matches we played identified our strengths and weaknesses and we need to work on that before we depart for Zimbabwe,” said Wambua.
The Mwamba tactician said they will pick a mix of youth and experience for the qualifier. “We have a good squad in training and we will be strong we are ready to face the best,” he said.
Shujaa are pitted against Zambia, Nigeria, and Nigeria in Pool ‘B’ and Wambua said they will not be taking any team for granted.
“We will take one match at a time. Sevens is unpredictable and we are not going to underestimate any team. We will take each team seriously in our quest to qualify for the Olympics next year in France,” he explained.
Pool ‘A’ will feature favourites South Africa, Madagascar, Tunisia, and Ivory Coast. Zimbabwe and Uganda will battle it out in Pool ‘C’ alongside Algeria and Burkina Faso.
Co-Captain Vincent Onyala said the Africa Sevens tournament will be ideal preparation for the Challenger Series and other tournaments that have been lined up for the team.
“It’s an opportunity to play against the best African sides and also look at playing in future tournaments, where we hope to build momentum to the Challenger Series next year.”
The KCB skipper missed the better part of last season due to a knee injury but Onyala is raring to go this time.
“It was painful to see us getting relegated and watching from the sidelines but I am glad to be back and ready to help the team regain their status as a core side come next season.