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The former Shujaa captain, who is now part of the coaching setup, has explained why they have given chances to several young players in preparation for a monumental 2024.
Former Kenya Sevens captain Andrew Amonde has revealed why the current Shujaa technical bench has given chances to several young players since taking over in July.
Shujaa managed to clinch their second title in the space of three months by lifting the Safari Sevens last Sunday.
They also qualified for the Olympics scheduled to take place in Paris, France next summer by lifting the Africa Sevens title in Harare, Zimbabwe in September.
However, the team is still building up in time for the Challenger Series which will begin in January with the side aiming to get back to the World Sevens Series at the first time of asking.
Amonde has revealed the mistakes the previous regimes in charge of the team made in terms of failing to successfully oversee transitions between age groups as the reason the current bench, led by Kevin Wambua, has given chances to so many youngsters.
“This tournament was a build up for us, just to expose what we have been doing in training,” Amonde told Pulse Sports.
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19:00 - 19.11.2023
RUGBY Patrick Odongo-inspired Shujaa hammer Samurai to retain Safari Sevens title
Patrick Odongo continued his impressive run for Kenya Sevens as he led them to the Safari Sevens title following a 19-0 thrashing of Samurai
“It is just a plus to see it successful. It is not the same level we would have ideally wanted it to be but, the good thing is that, we were able to work hard and get the win.
“Everyone has played well. Everyone has tried to push his weight. It is just a matter of seeing who will be able to be fit enough to represent us when the big rugby games start. There are bigger challenges coming ahead than Safari Sevens.
“We exposed most of the guys from the Shujaa and the Morans and we will keep on introducing younger guys, like the guys in the u19 setup. There are some who are still coming through the system, so it is a matter of trying to bridge the age gap, have the u19s and the 27 guys.
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18:57 - 17.11.2023
RUGBY Shujaa’s Vincent Onyala reveals what he learnt from recently-retired Billy Odhiambo
Kenya Sevens ace Vincent Onyala has explained the biggest thing he learnt from playing alongside Billy Odhiambo who hung up his boots this month.
“We are looking at the future and not just what we are doing now. That is why it cost us. We did not transition well, so we are trying to use younger guys coming through the system to expose them early.
“The future is what we are looking at. I know we will get back to the World Series, so how do we stay there? If we expose more young guys, we will have a bigger pool of players to select from for the future.”
Amonde says there is still room for improvement for Shujaa as they gear up for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"This is the tournament that Kenya has always used to benchmark herself so we are seeing where we are heading. We still have a lot to prepare for and we are still looking forward to working very hard," asserted Amonde.
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