Shujaa face a herculean task in the final leg of the World Sevens Series in Los Angeles this weekend.
Kenya have had an underwhelming season and are currently placed 13th on the log with 38 points.
They face Samoa in their opening match on Saturday (8:26 pm) at the Dignity Health Sports Park.
Samoa have had an impressive second half of the season after missing the opening three legs of the series due to Covid-19 restrictions and will be a stern test for Shujaa.
Head coach Damian McGrath said he expects a physical test from their opponents.
“We are in a fairly tough pool in Los Angeles and Samoa are the leading team in our group. They’ve no doubt been playing very very well this year and can't be taken for granted. They have been based in Dubai since Christmas and so we expect them to offer tough assignment for the first game," noted McGrath.
Next in line for Shujaa will be England on Saturday (11:10 pm) in their second preliminary match. The two sides met at the Singapore Sevens in April with Shujaa losing 19-12.
The tactician termed the match as tricky. “England have a young squad and have quality in them. We must match them in all aspects of play and be both efficient in attack and defence,” he added.
Shujaa's final match will be against Scotland on Sunday morning at 2:21 am. Kenyans are yet to beat Scotland having lost 17-12 in Malaga, 14-10 in February, and 26-14 in Toulouse Sevens in May.
The two sides clashed at the Commonwealth Games last month in Birmingham during the classification match with the Scots winning 22-12.
“Scotland beat us narrowly at the Commonwealth Games and while we are not going there expecting to turn everybody over, we are very confident we can put in some good performances," he added.
The Englishman has made two changes for the two tournaments, with forwards Jeff Oluoch and Sammy Oliech returning to the fold.
“The two have been out for a while but they have looked sharp in training. We expect them to add value to the team in what will be a competitive tournament.”
After the tournament, Shujaa return home to prepare for the Rugby World Cup Sevens slated for Cape Town, South Africa from September 9.
