Action between Quins and Blacblad during the 2024 Driftwood Sevens at Mombasa Sports Club/FILE
Champions Kenya Harlequins will seek to retain their title when the National Sevens Series when action begins on July 26-27 with the Driftwood Sevens in Mombasa.
Speaking on Friday, head coach Patrice Agunda said they have retained the core of the team from last season.
"Delighted that we did not lose any players during the two transfer windows. This gives us a solid base to build from, as well as giving some of the young players a chance,” noted Agunda.
Quins started their preparations for the sevens campaign in May and with eight weeks of pre-season under their belt, the tactician believes they are ready for the rigours of the shorter version of the game.
"We started earlier than the mid-to-late June we are used to. We had solid preparations in terms of strength and conditioning, as well as improving skills,” said Agunda.
Agunda will test his charges at the Ruff 'n' Tuff Sevens tournament, hosted by Nondies, on July 12-13.
The tournament will give us an idea of where we stand. It's the only pre-season tournament we are playing and we must maximise the opportunity to see our strengths and weaknesses and areas of improvement," observed Agunda.
The former Shujaa and Kenya Simbas international will take one tournament at a time. He expects twists and turns in the six weeks of competition.
“By being the champions, we have a target on our backs. The nature of the game is quite unpredictable; a bounce of the ball or a misplaced pass can cost you,” he added.
Agunda will bank on the likes of playmakers Lucky Dewald, Amon Wamalwa, Jan Remke, Richel Wangila, Wiseman Aganya and the experienced Herman Humwa.
After Driftwood, the series will head to Nakuru for the Prinsloo Sevens on August 2-3 before taking a two-week break to resume on August 16-17 with the Christie Sevens, and the Embu Sevens a week later.
The Kabeberi Sevens is slated for September 6-7, while the season-ending Dala Sevens is due September 13-14.
