Shujaa confident of landing Dubai 7s title

The HSBC World Sevens Series kicks off in six days with Shujaa head coach Innocent Simiyu confident of landing the Dubai title following a stellar series last season.

Shujaa finished third in the compacted series last season behind champions South Africa and Great Britain and will be looking to start the campaign with a bang in Dubai. 

Simiyu noted that the 14-man squad he selected has it in them to clinch their maiden Dubai Sevens title and gave a breakdown of the strengths that the USA possesses.

“We have selected a squad that is capable of winning in Dubai because the players have put in the hard work in training, in our first game against the USA we know we have two speedsters on the wings. They are very good on the set pieces but we have our own strategies in the game and I know when we meet them, we will be able to play our game and get the result that we want,” said Simiyu.

Shujaa are pooled alongside the USA and kick off the tournament against them on Friday with Mike Friday relying heavily on the pace of Perry Baker and Carlin Isles. 

Simiyu also lauded the new players who have been included in the squad noting that Kevin Wekesa is the reincarnated Andrew Amonde who hanged his boots after the Olympics. 

“We have three new players who played well in the Safari Sevens, Wekesa is like Amonde because he is good in the breakdowns, kickoffs and his physicality is also a bonus. Anthony Omondi has been in the squad but he suffered a concussion back in April but he was not able to play without the doctor's clearance but he has since been cleared and he will help us manage the game,” added Simiyu.