•Other new faces in the squad include Nygel Amaitsa, Festus Shiasi, Patrick Odongo , and William Muhanji.
•Wambua has retained skipper Vincent Onyala , Tony Omondi, George Ooro Brian Tanga, and Kevin Wekesa from the squad that did duty last season in the World Seven Series season where Shujaa got relegated.
Image: CHARLENE MALWA
Kenya Sevens coach Kevin Wambua believes they have what it takes to seal the automatic slot in next year's Olympic Games in Paris.
While naming the 12-man squad that will play at the Africa Cup-cum- Olympic qualifiers in Harare this weekend, Wambua said the seven-week training period has addressed failings that they had last season.
"We have worked hard on several aspects of play from our attack and defence to our skill set," added Wambua.
The Mwamba RFC coach said the two training camps in Nakuru, where they played against Oilers, Nakuru, and Uganda Select have been an eye-opener for them.
“The camps were good and opened our eyes to see where we need to improve. The boys are playing with confidence and are looking forward to competing with the best the continent has to offer,” added Wambua.
“The boys have responded well to our training sessions and I believe we are in a very good place for the qualifiers.
"We want to take a game at a time and play every game like a final. We have to get out of the pool stage first.
"We want to be in a position that will see us top the pool at the close of Day One and embark on the quarters. The boys believe they can go all the way,” he noted.
Commenting on the squad’s composition, Wambua said, “It is perfectly balanced. Three of the new call-ups were in the setup before and the other three are first-timers. It is very important that we give the boys confidence because we know they have the ability to take on the rest of Africa.”
KCB's scrum-half Samuel Asati leads five new faces to the squad. Other new faces in the squad include Nygel Amaitsa, Festus Shiasi, Patrick Odongo and William Muhanji.
Wambua has retained skipper Vincent Onyala, Tony Omondi, George Ooro Brian Tanga, and Kevin Wekesa from the squad that did duty last season in the World Seven Series season, where Shujaa got relegated.
Kenya face Namibia, Zambia and Nigeria in Pool B . Favorites South Africa are in Pool A, where they take on Madagascar, Ivory Coast and Tunisia
Pool C will see hosts Zimbabwe, Uganda, Algeria, and Burkina Faso battling it out. The winner qualifies for the Paris Olympics next year while the runners up heads to the repechage slated for June next year
Shujaa Squad: Vincent Onyala (KCB, co-captain), Tony Omondi (Mwamba, co-captain), Brian Tanga (Kabras Sugar), Kevin Wekesa (Kabras Sugar), John Okoth (Menengai Oilers), George Ooro (Strathmore Leos), Samuel Asati (KCB), Nygel Amaitsa (Strathmore Leos) William Mwanji (Kabras Sugar), Beldad Ogeta (Menengai Oilers), Patrick Odongo (Daystar Falcons) and Festus Shiasi (KCB).
Management: Kevin Wambua (head coach), Louis Kisia (assistant coach), Andrew Amonde (strength & conditioning coach), Lamech Bogonko (physio) and Steven Sewe (team manager)