National Sevens team skipper Andrew Amonde is bullish about the side's chances ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifiers next month as well as the World Sevens Series.
The veteran forward, who captained Shujaa to a bronze medal at the Safari Sevens over the weekend said the spirit and mood in the team is good and was hopeful that they can navigate through the qualifiers in South Africa next month.
"The boys are looking sharp, well organised and determined to succeed and both teams played their hearts out over the weekend,” added Amonde.
The KCB forward said there is a remarkable difference between now and last year.
"Some of the senior players came at the halfway point last season and the preparations were poor. This time round, we have started early and have our key players on board,” noted Amonde.
He added that the introduction of young players like Geoffrey Okwach, Joel Inzuga, Davis Nyaundi and Mike Okello ensures that the sevens game is in good hands for the next couple of years.
However, he observed that there is still room for improvement on some aspects with three weeks to go to the Olympic qualifiers and six weeks to the start of the World Sevens Series.
"We still have certain areas we have to improve. Our lineout must be better, our skill execution in attack also needs to be refined but we do have a bit of time to correct those areas,” he observed.
Amonde also hailed the appointment of new coach Paul Feeney of New Zealand.
"He has brought a couple of new ideas tweaked a couple of strategies and is getting feedback from all the players and helping us improve in our individual skill," he said.
Amonde termed the Dubai pool, where Kenya face three-time champions South Africa, England and Spain as a tricky one.
“It's a tough draw but with the experience of our senior players and some of the young players coming through, we will be competitive,” he noted.
