NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 5 – Kenya Sevens head coach Damian McGrath has lauded Strength and Conditioning coach Geoffrey Kimani’s input to raise the players’ fitness back to tip top shape after a lull by the team over the last two tournaments of the World Sevens Series.
Shujaa picked up back to back single points from the Toulouse and London legs of the World Sevens Series to dip further into the overall standings in McGrath’s first two weeks in charge.
But after more than three weeks of residential training at the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham later this month, the English tactician is pleased with the improvement, more so fitness-wise.
“Fatigue before was part of the reason and we had lots of players who had reached a level where they just couldn’t go on. But they have had a good rest and honestly I can’t underestimate how important the work coach Kimani has had on them. He’s got them in really good physical shape in running and in terms of shape and size as well. I am happy with where we are at the moment,” McGrath said.
Kimani, who was part of the backroom staff as Kenya hoisted its first ever Main Cup title at the Singapore Sevens in 2016 made a return to the team as part of McGrath’s team as he took charge of the squad in May.
When he took charge, McGrath had said he was worried with the skill level of the team but just over a month after being with the team, he says he has some level of satisfaction.
“They have improved but not as much as I would have liked. We have gone back to the basics on how to hold the ball, how to run with the ball and basically things that people ignore but are very important. We are better than we were but definitely not as good as we can be,” the tactician stated.
The team has been in residential training at the Kasarani Stadium in preparation for the Commonwealth Games where the tactician is hoping for an improved performance.
He says the team’s primary target is to first qualify into the knockout phases. Kenya was eliminated in the quarter finals by hosts Australia during the last Commonwealth Games hosted in Gold Coast in 2018.
The tactician has also stated he is impressed with the competition for places within the team and has warned that no one is assured of a place.
“We are under pressure to name a team but I want to leave it as long as possible because everyone is working really hard. It is a good place to be in when the competition is top and we want to get to a point where there is not entitlement in the team. Just because you are in the team doesn’t mean you must be in the team,” the tactician stated.
Meanwhile, he says there are four or five names that he has picked out after watching the last two legs of the National Sevens Series in Mombasa and Kisumu.
“I am very excited by four or five names. It’s always easy to pick 20 plus players but then it’s always better when you come across diamonds in the rough who have magic which you think you can polish. We think we have found a few, maybe not for now but maybe in future will be playing for Shujaa,” stated the tactician.
Meanwhile, the English coach who has assisted with England and coached Germany before remains optimistic that Shujaa will rise back to the top despite some struggles over the last three seasons.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day and I would love to say I got some magic dust which I can sprinkle and get the team back to the glory days,” the coach stated.
He adds; “We are building slowly and looking to be better each tournament. We can’t obviously be worse than we were in the last two tournaments where we finished rock bottom but we are always aiming to go one step higher. If players play to their potential that they have shown in training and we get to the knockout stages in the Commonwealth Games, then we will be a very dangerous team to meet.”
“I want to urge the fans to keep the faith. It will be better. The players want to be better and they are very proud Kenyans and I am hopeful for the future.”
