Skipper Nelson Oyoo looking to lift Shujaa out of relegation zone

RUGBY Skipper Nelson Oyoo looking to lift Shujaa out of relegation zone

Abigael Wafula 09:13 - 22.02.2023

Shujaa currently stands in 12th place with 21 points after five legs of the series.

With Shujaa currently staring down the barrel of relegation, Kenya Sevens captain Nelson Oyoo is confident the team can move out of the red zone after the Los Angeles and Vancouver Sevens legs set for February 25-26 and March 3-5 respectively.

Shujaa are in Pool C in the LA leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and will open their campaign against Australia in a quest to display remarkable results. They will then face Fiji and Japan on Sunday.

https://twitter.com/KenyaSevens/status/1628281038785900544?s=20

In the series rankings, Shujaa currently stands in 12th position with 21 points after struggling to post consistent performances this season with New Zealand heading the table with 87 points.

In the Hong Kong, Dubai, and Cape Town legs, they garnered one, five, and three points respectively. They went ahead to add seven points from their Hamilton series and five points in Sydney's leg.  

The team had been training at the Peponi School before flying out to Los Angeles and Oyoo noted that they are well prepared for the assignment and will surely make the country proud.

“We want to get out of the relegation zone and that means we have to get to the quarter-finals. We are the better side from looking at the Pool in LA sevens. We are going to put our best foot forward,” Oyoo noted.

He also extended a hand of gratitude to the sponsors and the government for making sure their training was seamless.

Meanwhile, head coach Damian McGrath has no doubts about his charges being explored. He noted that the team will surely gunner enough points to move out of the relegation zone. 

This season the series is structured so that at the end of the penultimate event in Toulouse, the 15th-ranked team will be relegated to the 2024 Challenger Series while the 12th to 14th-ranked teams will face off against the Challenger Series 2023 winner for the final position in the 2024 World Series.

SQUAD: Nelson Oyoo (Captain), Herman Humwa (Vice Captain), Kevin Wekesa, Alvin Otieno, Dennis Abukuse, Brian Tanga, Tony Omondi, John Okoth, George Ooro, Billy Odhiambo, Edmund Anya, Daniel Taabu, Brunson Madigu (Debut)