Edmonton 7's: Shujaa's perfect chance for Series title

The Kenya Sevens men's national team, Shujaa will be hoping to pick up from where they left from in Vancouver as they kickstart their Edmonton leg of the 7’s World Series.

Shujaa had a tournament to remember after finishing as the runners up in Vancouver and stand a perfect chance of lifting their first-ever World Rugby Sevens Series title with only two legs set to be contested due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kenya landed a favourable Pool as they are placed alongside Chile, Spain and the USA and start the tournament at 7:53 PM on Saturday against the South American nation.

Shujaa have won all their recent encounters against Chile and will be strong favourites heading into the clash while Innocent Simiyu’s charges also thumped Spain in the Pool games in Vancouver.

A last gasp try from Alvin Otieno who finished as the second top try scorer in Vancouver was enough to hand Kenya a win over the USA in the quarter-finals as the two nations will renew their rivalry on Sunday at 2:35 AM.

Following an impressive campaign in Vancouver, Innocent Simiyu will not be resting on his laurels as he went on to pinpoint the strength of every side they face in the group stage.

“This is a new week, a new tournament and new challenges posed by the teams we are facing. We must, therefore, not allow complacency to check-in,” he said.

“USA are a dangerous team who on their day can beat anyone. Chile are very physical and will slow down the game to suit them while Spain are a compact side who will test you to the limit.” said Simiyu.

With heavyweights Fiji and New Zealand sitting out of the Series, this presents Shujaa with their best chance of lifting the Series title.