Shujaa hope to make history at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games

Kenya has won 113 medals (35 gold, 42 silver, and 36 bronze) at the Olympics, but none of them have come from a team sport. Kenya’s best performance in a team sport at the Olympic Games remains the 6^th-place finish achieved by its hockey team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.

The Kenya Sevens, preparing for their third Olympic Games following appearances in 2016 and 2020, are hoping to improve on that record and return to the country from the 2024 Paris Olympics with at least a bronze medal.

However, that challenge is a daunting task that awaits the youngest and least experienced team to represent Kenya in the Rugby Sevens at the Olympic Games.

The Shujaa squad selected to represent Kenya at the 2024 Olympic Games has an average age of 25 years and has little experience of featuring in the World Rugby Seven Series, the sport’s elite international competition.

The Shujaa squad that represented Kenya at the 2016 Olympic Games had an average age of 26, while the one that did duty five years later in Tokyo had an average age of 30. The fact that the current Shujaa squad has no player older than 29 is an indication that the veterans of the Kenya Rugby Sevens’ high-flying days have been phased out, and now the team is in a stage of rebuilding with the blooding of new young players.

Speaking during the Shujaa Media Day on Wednesday, Kenya Sevens coach Kevin acknowledged the challenging task that awaits the squad but expressed confidence in their ability to surmount the odds.

“We have a group of young players who have been very cooperative. We have blown hot and cold during the Challenger Series, but you can only be as good as your last game, and our last game was good,” Wambua said.

Between the last Olympic Games and now, Kenya only appeared at the World Rugby Sevens Series in the 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons before the team suffered relegation to the Challenger Series.

Coach Kevin Wambua has announced the Kenya Sevens Shujaa squad is heading to Paris for the 2024 Olympics.

“The team has been in camp & we are pleased with how well we have gelled together. We are ready to give our very best at the Olympics."
Kudos champs 🇰🇪💯#TeamKenya pic.twitter.com/N12wnoCgLo

— TeamKenya (@OlympicsKe) July 3, 2024

At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Kenya will come up against teams that have been featured in the World Rugby Seven Series. That means that already there is a gulf in class between them and their opponents, and Wambua and the squad have been working hard to bridge the gap. Also, the fact that the squad defeated South Africa to qualify for the Olympic Games while out of the World Rugby Sevens Series is testament to their ability to defy the odds.

“We have spent four weeks in camp working on our weaknesses as well as analysing our opponents. So far, the progress has been good as we have improved on various attack and defence frameworks,” Wambua said.

On his part, Tony Omondi, the squad’s co-captain with Vincent Onyala, stated that the team is well prepared.

“We have worked on our mentality, and we hope our hard work in training will bear fruit in Paris,” Omondi said before adding that the team will take each game as it comes as they fight to become the first Kenya rugby sevens team to progress to the knockout stages at the Olympic Games.

At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Kenya will be in Group A with Argentina, Australia, and Samoa. Argentina finished second in the Grand Finals of the 2023–24 World Rugby Sevens Series and will be the team to beat. Australia finished 7th, while Samoa, who did not qualify for the Grand Finals, finished in 11^th place in the league.

According to an interview George “Japolo” Ooro gave during the interview, Kenya Sevens seems to be looking forward to playing the Argentines.

“I look forward to my match-up with Luciano Gonzalez,” Ooro said.

While acknowledging the difference in physique between Kenyan players and their Argentine counterparts, Shujaa conditioning coach Andrew Amonde said that the Kenya Sevens will count on their tactics to overcome the South Americans.

“The Argentines are definitely big. The smallest player is the same size as our biggest player, but that does not mean we cannot defeat them. We have played and won against big boys before, and we just have to execute our tactics well,” Amonde said.

With the bulk of the players in teams joining the Kenya Sevens after the Tokyo Olympic Games, it means that the most experienced player in the squad has played at least 30 World Rugby Sevens Series, a figure that,  when lowered by the team's estimated average, pales in comparison to the average tournament matches of the 2016 and 2020 squads, which were 33 and 35, respectively.

However, Amonde believes that the team is on the verge of greatness, going by how they have progressed, and tips them to achieve more in the future than previous Shujaa squads.

“Most of these players are well-versed in the basics of rugby. Most of them came through academies, and if they maintain the focus, I see them winning a World Rugby Sevens Series soon,” Amonde said.

The squad was named on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, by its coach, Kevin Wambua, as the team closed its local training camp ahead of flying to France on Monday night to continue with its preparations for the Olympic Games at its training base in Miramas, a city in southern France.

At 27 years old, KCB Rugby’s Vincent Onyala, who was named co-captain together with 29-year-old Tony Omondi of Mwamba RFC, is one of the most experienced players in the squad and one of its oldest players. Tony Omondi is the squad’s oldest player.

Onyala, along with 28-year-old Herman Humwa, go to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games as the only Kenya Sevens players who featured at the last Olympic Games. It is a distinction that makes them join an elite list of four other players who have represented Kenya in the rugby sevens at at least two Olympic Games.

The others are Andrew Amonde (team captain in 2016 and co-captain in 2020), Billy Odhiambo, Collins Injera (co-captain in 2020), and Willy Ambaka.

The quartet represented Kenya at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, but Amonde will be making the trip to Paris with the current Shujaa as its conditioning coach. Other members of Shujaa’s technical bench include physio Lamech Bogonko and team manager Steve Sewe.

Other players in the Shujaa squad are John Okoth (Menengai Oilers, 24 years old), Kevin Wekesa (Kabras Sugar, 24 years old), George Ooro (Strathmore Leos, 24 years old), Samuel Asati (KCB Rugby, 25 years old), Nygel Amaitsa (Strathmore Leos, 22 years old), Brian Tanga (Kabras Sugar, 28 years old), Patrick Odongo (Daystar Falcons, 22 years old), Lamech Ambetsa (Kabras Sugar, 23 years old), and Chrisant Ojwang (Nakuru RFC, 24 years old).

Dennis Abukuse (Menengai Oilers) and Festus Shiasi (KCB Rugby) will travel as reserves, while Brian Mutugi (Mwamba RFC) will be a training reserve.