Kenya: Shujaa, Lionesses to Compete at Dubai 7s in Preparation for Paris Olympics

23 November 2023
Capital FM (Nairobi)
By Omondi Onyatta

Nairobi — The national rugby 7s teams for men and women are set to compete at next week's Dubai 7s as they up their preparations towards the Paris Olympics in August next year.

The men's side, Shujaa, will face off against R10C Selects, Wailers and Speranza 22 in Pool C of the men's invitational category.

Coach Kelvin 'Bling' Wambua will be hoping to extend his unbeaten streak at the top, following on from last weekend's win over Samurai at the Safari 7s at the RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi.

The former Mwamba RFC coach also led Shujaa to another appearance at next year's Olympics after their final win over bitter rivals South Africa at the Rugby Africa Sevens tournament in Harare, Zimbabwe in September this year.

The Dubai 7s will also be a chance for Shujaa to sharpen themselves ahead of their campaign to return to the prestigious World Rugby 7s Series, from which they were relegated in May this year after losing to Canada at the London 7s.

For the women's team, Lionesses, the invitational tournament will be a precursor of what to come ahead of the Paris Olympics Repechage through which they hope to qualify for the quadrennial event.

Coach Dennis 'Ironman' Mwanja's charges narrowly missed out on a second consecutive appearance at the Olympics after a 12-7 loss to South Africa at the qualifiers in Tunis, Tunisia in October.

The Lionesses lost to their Ugandan counterparts in the final of the Safari 7s and will be angling for redemption in Dubai.

They kick off their campaign in Pool B against Ireland Invitational before squaring up to Rhino Stompers - both matches on December 1.

The next day sees them pitted against France Militaire 7s before completing their group matches against USA Falcons.

Read the original article on Capital FM.

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