Africa-Press – Kenya. Concentration lapses and basic errors have been blamed for Kenya’s poor performance at the just-concluded Hong Kong Sevens.
Speaking on Wednesday, Kenya Sevens skipper Nelson Oyoo, said they had good starts in all their matches but their inability to sustain the pressure coupled with basic errors led to their poor run.
“We started well in all our matches but failed to maintain the momentum. This is something we have to work on the next couple of weeks before we head to Dubai at the start of December,” added Oyoo.
The Nakuru RFC winger said all was not lost despite picking one point from the tournament.
“It’s only the first tournament and there is no reason for alarm. We have to pick ourselves up and improve in certain facets of our performance. Dubai will no doubt be different,” he added.
Kenya lost all five matches in the three-day tournament, going down 28-12 to Ireland, 26-7 to Argentina, 19-14 to Canada, 43-0 to New Zealand and 10-7 to minnows Uruguay— finishing last with one point alongside Hong Kong
Shujaa face Hong Kong sevens champions Australia, South Africa and Great Britain in Dubai next month and Oyoo has predicted an upset against one of the two teams in the pool.
“The margin between us and the big teams is very small and we can cause an upset and progress to the quarterfinals,” he noted.
He added that new boys in the team Vincent ‘Japolo’ Ooro and Dennis Abukuse will take time to adjust to the rigors of the sevens game.
“They are talented players and at some point, they will adjust. There is a big difference between playing in the Sevens circuit and stepping out into the World Series. However, they are learning quickly,” he observed.
He cited a lack of allowances and poor training facilities as some of the challenges they face in the run-up to the tournament.
Oyoo said the union is working to ensure the players are comfortable for the remainder of the World Sevens Series.
“We hope by the time we go to Dubai, the issues will be resolved and we can focus on playing without distractions,” said Oyoo.
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