NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 1- Kenya will face New Zealand in the group stages of the Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens to be staged in Gold Coast, Australia from April 13-15.
Shujaa faced the ‘All Blacks’ during the last Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland in the Quarter finals and lost 19-7 and will be looking for revenge when they face off again four years later.
Innocent Simiyu’s men will also lock horns with World Rugby Sevens Circuit rivals Canada and fellow Africans Zambia in Group C of the games.
Despite finishing second in the pool behind eventual champions South Africa in Glasgow, Shujaa fell off in the plate semis losing to Wales, but the team has vowed to fight for a medal position in this year’s edition.
Simiyu, speaking in a previous interview said; “It has been our target since we started training for the new season to medal at the Commonwealth Games. We are prepared for it and will fight to ensure we get something.”
Meanwhile, the women’s team, Kenya Lionesses have been dipped into a tough pool A and will face off with New Zealand as well, perennial African rivals South Africa and Canada.
Head coach Kevin Wambua expects a tough encounter in the pool, but his side’s preparations were dealt a major blow after they failed to register for the Dubai Sevens tournament.
Commonwealth Games pools
Men
Pool A: South Africa, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia
Pool B: England, Australia, Samoa, Jamaica
Pool C: New Zealand, Canada, Kenya, Zambia
Pool D: Australia, Wales, Uganda, Sri Lanka
Women
Pool A: New Zealand,Canada,South Africa,Kenya
Pool B: Australia, Fiji, England, Wales
