National Sevens champions Homeboyz have been pitted against Germany, Kuban RFC and South Africa academy in this weekend’s the Dubai Invitational Sevens tournament.
The side that departs today for the Arabian Gulf expect a competitive event and head coach Simon Odongo has exuded confidence that they will be going all out to to qualify for the Main Cup quarter-finals. “It’s a tough pool but the boys are well prepared. We have had good build-up, winning the sevens circuit and playing in the Kenya Cup. We are relishing the challenge of facing the teams,” added Odongo.
Homeboyz squad will feature William Diffu, Max Kang’eri, new signing Monate Akwei, Cyprian Kuto, Bush Mwale and Mark Wandeto. Others in the squad are Victor Ochoro, Bryan Juma, Zeden Marrow, Israel Soi, Brian Ayimba and Mark Wandeto.
Odongo said the squad will use their Dubai event as a build-up for their three Kenya Cup matches in December, where they face champions KCB, Quins,and Menengai Oilers.
“It’s a good tournament in terms of preparation for the Kenya Cup fixtures and we hope we can learn a thing or two before we come back home for the league,” added Odongo. With the last year’s semi-finalists Samurai short of a sponsor to this year’s event, the England-based team has provided tournament consultancy and general team assistance to Homeboyz as they make their first appearance at the tournament. “We thank Samurai for their support in helping us prepare for the event,” added Odongo.
Elsewhere, the Kenya Simbas have slipped two place down in the latest world rugby rankings, dropping from position 30 to 32. Simbas slid having lost all their three matches at the World Cup repechage event in Marseille. The Kenyans lost 65-19 to Canada, 42-17 to Hong Kong and 43-6 to Germany to finish last. Canada sealed the final spot at next year’ss World Cup, where they play holders New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Namibia. The Simbas will now turn their attention to the Africa Cup Gold Cup slated for next year in June.