MIRAMAS, France, Jul 19 – Following a string of good results which culminated into Paris 2024 Olympic qualification and a comeback to top flight World Rugby Sevens series, Shujaa players now carry an air of confidence into next week’s opening games fixture against Argentina on Wednesday July 24 at the Stade de France.
And having finished 11th in Rio 2016 and 9th in Tokyo 2020, Shujaa Head Coach Kevin Wambua just can’t stop thinking about their South American match adversaries.
“The team progress has been steady. Now the pressure is upon us. Third time lucky? For us, the essence is to just follow our process right now. We are now thinking of how we will beat Argentina then the other games we will think about them when the right time comes.”
“We don’t want to give the boys a lot of pressure. We will approach every game like a cup final. It’s obvious the boys would like to get out of the pool but it’s a process,” coach Wambua told Capital Sport in Miramas after having their last session.
Coach Wambua added, “It’s been hot, almost replicating the kind of weather we are going to experience in Paris and the boys were able to catch up well. Coming to the second week, our focus shifted to a more technical and practical approach as we were just fine tuning our plays,” explained Wambua.
–Seventh Heaven—
He emphasized: “We have done our job, so far so good. The boys are in good spirits, technically we’ve cleaned up on our attack and defence frameworks.”
Shujaa have also spent some time in the swimming pool to calm down the nerves after the heavy training, and Wambua is overly excited about it.
“Well, the Olympics is the biggest stage of sports and for them being calm and collective that’s a boost for us in terms of their mental approach.”
“We know there’s a lot of pressure, three quarters of the squad has never been to the Olympics, so seeing them happy, cheering each other, it shows that they have no pressure,” Wambua added.
–The 13th Player!—
Meanwhile, Wambua is grateful to the amount of support fans have cheered them on to victory.
He said: “The fans are always our thirteenth player. They give us extra impetus, especially in times of pressure. They have been with us all through the challenge, more so, when in Zimbabwe when we qualified for the Olympics. They usually push us when things are tough and we would like them to come in large numbers as we wouldn’t disappoint in Paris.”
On Wednesday evening, Wambua’s charges will tackle Australia for their second match before their third and last Pool B match against Samoa on Thursday July 25.
The world’s best men’s and women’s rugby sevens players will compete at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, from 24-30 July.
Twenty-four teams will lock horns in the iconic Stade de France in their respective tournaments, 12 each for the men’s and women’s competitions.
For the first time, rugby sevens will commence two days before the Opening Ceremony with the men’s preliminary and quarter-final stages.
Shujaa touched down in Paris on Friday afternoon, being the first Kenyan side to arrive in the Olympics village to join fencer Alexandra Ndolo, who has been sharpening her skills in the French capital.
Speaking at the Marseille International Airport when the team was departing to Paris, Team Manager Steve Sewe was beaming with confidence that the boys will deliver.
“We managed to tick all our boxes while in Miramas, the weather has been good for us. We have been provided for everything we needed by NOC-K. This is a once in a lifetime experience and the boys know that this is their opportunity to be watched by over a billion people. We will be playing in a 60,000 capacity stadium and there is pressure that come with it, but at the same time, it’s an excitement for the boys because they know everybody will be watching them,” Sewe said.
Fiji, who have won the men’s Olympic titles since the sport made its debut at Rio 2016, will be going for a golden hat-trick, but will have to be at their best to stop hosts France, who won the 2024 World Rugby Sevens Series Grand Final in June.
On the women’s side, reigning Olympic champions New Zealand will be desperate to settle a score with Rio 2016 champs Australia, who won the world series in June, beating hosts France in the final.
-Alex Isaboke is reporting from Miramas, France-
