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Kenya Sevens head coach Kevin Wambua reveals biggest lesson learned from Olympics
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Reading Time: 3min | Tue. 30.07.24. | 19:51
Shujaa finished ninth in the Paris 2024 Olympics, a performance the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) described as their ‘best-ever Olympic performance’
Kenya Sevens head coach Kevin Wambua has underscored the need for a robust youth development program to elevate the national team to the next level.
This is after Shujaa finished ninth in the Paris 2024 Olympics, a performance the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) described as their ‘best-ever Olympic performance’.
They finished 11th in the Rio Olympics and 9th during the Tokyo Olympics.
Shujaa kicked off their pool matches with a 31-12 loss to Argentina before going down 21-7 to Australia. They suffered a humbling 26-0 defeat in the hands of Samoa to extend their eight-year search for an Olympic pool game victory.
Their first win came after they edged Uruguay 19-14 to proceed to the ninth-place playoff where they defeated Samoa 10-5 to finish ninth.
Reflecting on their stay in the French capital, Wambua was proud of his proteges for their resilience, emphasising the importance of identifying and nurturing young talent from a tender age.
For Wambua, the challenge of integrating young talent to the squad can be addressed by having a structured youth development program.
"The biggest thing we can take from this tournament is that we need a feeder program. It's very hard to teach basic skills at the top level in the national team.
"We need to get a feeder system and select a few players with potential, teach them the basics so that when they step into the national team, it will be just a matter of a tactical and technical approach of coaching to them," the tactician offered.
"We need to do a talent ID and get a few boys who can be in camp and we can be closely monitoring them and seeing how they will break into the team so that the team has a steady flow of athletes," he continued.
One way of building depth within the team, according to Wambua, was by ensuring that the Morans were active and running throughout the year to allow the players to stay in peak physical condition and develop their skills consistently.
"We want to make sure that the Morans program is running throughout the year so that we can build some depth and also build some competition so that the guys on the top remain honest and don't remain complacent," he offered.
The tactician went on to note that inexperience hindered the team's performance. Many players, despite their talent and potential, lacked the experience needed to handle high-pressure situations and make strategic decisions on the fly.
"We were playing against people who have played in the World Cup and in multiple seasons in the HSBC Sevens series. Looking at our squad, three quarters are first time Olympians and that shows the potential of the team.
"For me it's now to just encourage them and continue demanding more from them. We need to play consistently against these teams for 14 minutes, not 10 or less minutes," he observed.
Shujaa left Paris without a medal, but Wambua was optimistic that if action was taken to bridge the gap with top-tier rugby nations, Kenya’s potential would be unmatched.
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