MARE OR BREAK TOURNEY

Shujaa tweak game plan ahead of promotion playoffs in Madrid

Kisia said the players are in good shape after a 10-day training camp in Miramas, France.

In Summary

•Pool 'A' features Canada, Germany, Uruguay and the USA.

•Shujaa begin their Pool 'B' campaign on Friday against Samoa and Spain and complete their preliminary matches against Chile on Saturday.

Kenya sevens Patrick Odongo is wrestled to the ground by a Japanese defender as halfback Samuel Asato provides support during the Munich Challenger seven series
Kenya sevens Patrick Odongo is wrestled to the ground by a Japanese defender as halfback Samuel Asato provides support during the Munich Challenger seven series

Kenya Sevens have tweaked their game plan before the World Sevens Series promotion playoff in Madrid, Spain, starting Friday.

Ahead of the make-or-break tournament, Shujaa assistant coach Louis Kisia said: "We have worked on a couple of things which we believe will give us the edge in the three-day competition."

Kisia said the players are in good shape after a 10-day training camp in Miramas, France.

"This is what we have been preparing for for the entire season. The boys are in high spirits. We had a good session in France where we looked at everything from attack, defence and setpiece to basic core skills,” said Kisia.

Shujaa begin their Pool 'B' campaign on Friday against Samoa and Spain and complete their preliminary matches against Chile on Saturday.

The teams will then be seeded again for the quarterfinals where Shujaa hope to advance to the final four and secure a ticket back to the World Seven Series after a one-year hiatus.

Pool 'A' features Canada, Germany, Uruguay and the USA.

The squad landed in Madrid on Monday and had a light training session on Tuesday. They will have another session on Wednesday before the Captain's Run on Thursday.

Kisia, a former Strathmore Leos coach, said they will take one game at a time.

"Our mantra the entire season has been to take one game at a time. It's going to be a long weekend. There will be ups and downs but the boys have trained hard all season," said Kisia.

"We ask our fans to turn up in big numbers and pray that we return to the World Seven Series next season."

Shujaa co-captain Vincent Onyala said they are keen to correct their errors from the final Challenger Series in Munich a fortnight ago, where the team finished fifth overall.

"Sevens is very unforgiving. We made many individual errors and were punished," said Onyala.

"We have worked on them in Miramas and hope for an all-round, polished performance this weekend."