McGrath beats war drums ahead of Shujaa opener against perennial foes Uganda

The men’s national rugby 7s head coach Damian McGrath has promised to restore Shujaa’s pride when the team locks horns with perennial rivals Uganda in their 2022 Commonwealth Games opener that takes place on Friday afternoon.

At the event taking place in Birmingham, England, Shujaa, who are in Pool D, will open their campaign against Uganda on Friday (1250EAT) before facing Jamaica (2058EAT) and Australia in the other matches.

Heading into the opener, Shujaa will be eyeing revenge and bragging rights against a Uganda side that defeated them 22-12 in the semifinals of the 2022 Africa 7s Cup on their way to dethroning Kenya as the champions of the continental tournament.

Despite only taking charge in what will be his third tournament with the team, McGrath has stressed that he already understands the fierce rivalry between the two sides and that Kenya will be on the hunt when the two sides face each other in the first game.

“I am fully aware of the rivalry plus everyone has been reminding me of that. I watched the 2022 Africa 7s cup game where they beat us in the semifinals and I could not believe it. It is going to be a big opening game and we are looking forward to getting that one under the belt straight away,” the head coach told Mozzart Sport.

“We are not going there to just play well. We are going there to win. You can imagine what the players are thinking because it was a real knock to their pride to lose that previous game to Uganda so we will be out to play at our very best,” he added.

Additionally, the former Germany head coach, who expressed satisfaction with their preparations for the Games, has revealed that the players set the target of reaching the quarterfinals for themselves and believes the boys have what it takes to live to their word.

“The boys have set their own targets because they are the ones playing the game. They want to get to the knockout stages and I cannot see any reason why we cannot do that. Once we get there, and we play to our potential, it becomes interesting because we are one of those teams to cause worry to the others. Let us see what we will achieve,” he said.

Shujaa core team status for 2023 World Rugby Sevens Series confirmed

The top two teams from each pool will qualify for the men’s quarter-finals, which will take place on 30 July.

Shujaa Playing Schedule

Friday 29 July

Shujaa vs Uganda - 1250EAT

Shujaa vs Jamaica - 2058EAT

Saturday 30 July

Shujaa vs Australia - 1250EAT

Commonwealth Games Pools

Pool A: New Zealand, England, Samoa, Sri Lanka

Pool B: South Africa, Scotland, Tonga, Malaysia

Pool C: Fiji, Canada, Wales, Zambia,

Pool D: Australia, Kenya 7s, Uganda, Jamaica