NAIROBI, Kenya, December 6 – Kenya will be without four key players for this weekend’s South African leg of the IRB World Sevens series in Port Elizabeth due to exam commitments and injuries, officials said.
Hard-working winger Collins Injera, Biko Adema and Oscar Ouma have returned home from South Africa to sit for their end-of-the year exams, while utility back Sydney Ashioya has been ruled out of the series due to a hamstring injury he sustained in Dubai earlier this month.
Kenya coach Mike Friday has recalled former captain Humphrey Kayange to take Ashioya’s position as he bids to build on the success of the opening two legs in Australia and Dubai, where Kenya finished fourth and third respectively.
This will first game for the Bristol University student Kayange, who has had to prove his match fitness to be considered to join the squad, which will also include three rookies, Billy Odhiambo, Oscar Oyondi and Fabian Olando.
“Andrew Amonde, the captain of the Kenya Sevens team, is extremely happy to have Humphrey joining the team to assist the new debutants and other very inexperienced squad members. His calming experience will be an added bonus as Amonde leads his team into the Port Elizabeth round,” Friday told IRB.com.
The Kenyans are currently placed joint-second with Samoa and Fiji in the standings with 32 points. They are grouped in Pool C alongside Argentina, Spain and Wales for the Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens in Port Elizabeth on December 8-9.
