Upper Hill Sevens rugby team are confident of reclaiming the national title they last won in 2019.
Upper Hill are fresh from winning the regional crown last weekend when they beat Nairobi School 7-0.
Assistant coach Eustace Sifuna said are ready for the task at hand, unlike last year.
“Last year, we had several challenges including a lack of support from the school administration, poor coaching and ill preparations.
"I am happy to announce that we have made some changes to make the team competitive this year. We want to go all out and reclaim the trophy,” added Sifuna.
The tactician saluted the boys for bouncing back after losing the 15's crown to Lenana School during Term One games.
“The boys displayed maturity and a never-say-die attitude. We felt sad after missing out on the 15s title but this group of boys are very resilient and we are looking forward to the Sevens title in Kisumu,” said Sifuna.
During the Term Two games last year, Upper Hill bowed in the quarterfinal after losing to runners-up Butula 31-5 in Nakuru.
Sifuna said they are keen to qualify for the East African Games with the top three teams in Lakeside City expected to earn the ticket.
“It's a big motivation for us. We won the title at the East Africa Games' in 2019 in Tanzania and the boys are fired up. They want to prove they are the best in the region,” noted Sifuna.
Upper Hill will be up against the likes of St Mary's Yala, Kisii High and Alliance among others.
Sifuna believes his charges are up to the task. “For us to be the best, we have to beat the top sides. We learnt our lessons from last year and now we need to execute better both in terms of defence and attack."
The tactician termed the semifinal match in the regionals, where they beat Lenana 10-5 as one of the toughest they have played this year.
"It was a hard-fought match. Lenana pushed us very hard but the boys showed composure to win the match," said Sifuna,
He observed the team will work on their basic core skills in the next few days before departing to Kisumu on July 28.
