Nairobi — Shujaa picked positives from the just concluded Rugby Sevens World Cup in South Africa, where Kenya finished 12th after losing their final match to the United States of America.
The Kenyan boys lost 26-19 to the USA in the 11/12 placement match in a tight game, having earlier lost 36-0 to Scotland.
Shujaa veteran Sammy Oliech believes the team has picked up vital lessons and will come back stronger in the 2022-23 season.
“We’ve seen a number of things that we need to work on, and some things that we have worked on that are working now. I think the team coming together has really helped. Over the whole weekend, the team has got a lot stronger, we’ve gelled a lot better, gone through and had moments on and off the pitch – I think we can only get better from there,” Oliech told KRU’s official website.
Against the USA, Shujaa broke the deadlock after Vincent Onyala picked the loose ball and attacked on the blindside to score with Oliech converting.
This lead was short-lived as Lucas Lacamp touched down with Steve Tomasin to level the scores, 7-7 at the break.
Nelson Oyoo would then leave his opponents for dead with a turn of speed to give Shujaa the lead after the restart, Oliech converting for a 14-7 lead but Tomasin would then convert tries from Malachi Easdale and Perry Baker to put the USA 21-14 ahead.
Baker landed his brace to take the USA to 26-14 before Onyala, having a blinder of a tournament in Cape Town, did the hard work down the left flank, availing the ball to Jeff Oluoch to score Shujaa’s third try as the side improved from their 16th position at the 2018 tournament in San Francisco.
-Additional info courtesy KRU