Nairobi — National men's rugby 7s team coach Kevin 'Bling' Wambua concedes he wouldn't have led Kenya back to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series without God's guidance.
Wambua gave credit to his Maker as the driving force behind his success after he took over the reins of the national team in September last year.
"Everything goes back to Him...I give the glory back to God. I worked hard but without God...without His leadership, we wouldn't be here so I give thanks to God. I thank Him for giving me this talent and the opportunity to coach such a wonderful team," the coach said.
Wambua engineered one of the best days of Kenyan rugby in recent times, coaching Shujaa to a 33-15 mauling of Germany in their playoff promotion quarterfinal tie in Madrid on Sunday evening.
The win cemented their return to core status of World Rugby 7s following the heartbreak of last year when they were relegated from the same competition after losing 12-5 to Canada at the London Sevens.
What followed has been a rebuilding process in which Wambua, alongside former Strathmore Leos boss Louis 'Fadhee' Kisia, were handed the responsibility of resurrecting Shujaa from the ashes.
They couldn't have asked for a better start to their coaching careers when Shujaa beat South Africa 17-12 at the Rugby Africa Cup in Harare, Zimbabwe to qualify for this year's Olympics in Paris.
Olympics qualification secured, they went ahead to clinch the reintroduced Safari Sevens on home soil even as they kept their eyes on the World Rugby Challenger Series -- their pathway back to the high table of rugby 7s.
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January ended on a fairytale note as Wambua's charges beat Chile 12-5 to clinch the first leg of the Challenger Series in Dubai.
The next leg of the series in Montevideo, Uruguay, yielded a third-place finish after a 31-12 win over Chile -- once again -- before they finished fifth at the last leg of the series in Munich, Germany.
A key cog in Shujaa's success has been Kenyan fans who have been cheering them hoarse throughout their matches.
Wambua is cognisant of this and paid tribute to the eighth man for their vociferous support.
"The fans gave us motivation and that extra drive when we were under pressure. That was fantastic and we thank all the fans who came out to support the team. This one is for them," he said.
Shujaa will return home on Tuesday morning to a rapturous reception at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) before they turn their attentions to the Paris Olympics in July.
