Shujaa head coach Innocent Simiyu says his charges will be seeking to finish the rugby competition on a high by beating Ireland in their final classification match.
Kenya recorded their first win of the Olympics, beating Japan 21-7 in the classification matches for 9-12 but Simiyu wants his charges to atone for the earlier defeat against the Irish.
Shujaa lost to 12-7 to Ireland in their final preliminary match in an error-strewn match to kiss goodbye to their hopes of a medal in the rugby competition.
"We now have a chance to finish and atone for the poor result in the pool game. The boys are determined to finish on a high and do the country proud,” added Simiyu.
The former skipper was encouraged by the ball retention in the match against Japan and said it will be key in the match against Ireland today.
"We kept the ball for long, prompting us to score three tries. Now we must replicate the same and deny them possession and take our chances,” added Simiyu.
Skipper Andrew Amonde who is playing in his final tournament said it's been a tough outing so far in Tokyo. “We really wanted to get to the quarters, unfortunately, we didn’t and it is something very hard to take as a player because we have worked very hard to be here," he noted.
The KCB stalwart noted that with the likes of Johnston Olindi, Daniel Taabu and Vincent Onyala being exposed to the Olympics and other elite tournaments, the future of Kenya Sevens is in good hands.
"We have exposed a lot of young guys into the system and we are sure about the future. We have a very competitive team for the World Rugby Program," he added.
Kenya's try scorers against Japan were Alvin Otieno, Jeffrey Olouch and Andrew Amonde with Olindi converting all three tries for the team that led 14-7 at the breather. Shujaa had lost their opening match 19-14 to USA and 14-5 to South Africa.