NAIROBI, Kenya, May 28 – National sevens rugby coach Benjamin Ayimba wants his team to cap their 2008/2009 International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens series season with a flourish this weekend in Edinburgh.
Ayimba said that his side was disappointed with their performance at Twickenham last week despite winning the bowl and expressed hope that they will reach the main cup final at Murrayfield.
“It was unfortunate that in England we lost one match which put us in the bowl category. Ideally we need to finish this season strongly to help in our pooling next season,” said Ayimba.
Kenya lock horns with last week’s champions England, home side Scotland and Canada in Pool C of the Edinburgh Sevens.
“Playing England is going to be very tough and we have Canada and Scotland as well. But as I keep saying if we manage to get through a tough pool like the one we have, we have a good chance of winning the tournament,” observed Ayimba.
Ayimba also paid tribute to captain Humphrey Kayange and his younger brother Collins Injera for their inspirational performances throughout the season saying it stems from their simple background.
“Their home in Eldoret is very welcoming, their parents are warm and humble and this has reflected in the way they do things on the pitch and how they relate to other players,” said Ayimba.
“When Humphrey came into the national team, the coaches then did not have a lot of faith in him. I played alongside him so when I became coach, he really stepped up and it took off from there,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kenya Harlequin winger Leon Adongo has been put on standby for the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Festival Sevens in case an ankle injury to Lavin Asego does not heal on time.
George Odhiambo, Kenya’s physiotherapist has given Asego the green light to play in Edinburgh saying that he had made a remarkable recovery from the knock in England,
Asego was able to walk without the crutches and played a friendly match against USA.
“It was not a very bad knock but the physiotherapist took all the precautions,” explained Newton Ong’alo, who is back from London having travelled to London as the assistant team manager.
Team manager Oscar Osir indicated that all was well since the team arrived in Edinburgh Tuesday.
“We have been busy correcting a few mistakes and reviewed matches of the last leg in London. Today, we played against USA. We had wanted to play France but they declined,” explained Osir.
