'Buffa', Tanga return as McGrath names squad for Hamilton, Sydney Sevens
Alvin 'Buffa' Otieno and Brian Tanga have been recalled to
the national sevens side Shujaa for the Hamilton and Sydney legs of the HSBC Sevens
world series as head coach Darmian McGrath named a 13-man squad for the two
legs.
‘Buffa’ had been excused from the side in the third and fourth legs of the World Series to complete his switch to Eastman Warriors Rugby Club in Canada.
At the same time Menengai Oilers centre John Okoth has been
called up to the national side for the first time to replace the injured
Vincent Onyala. Daystar Falcons' Floyd Wabwire was the other debutant named by
coach McGrath who expressed his optimism of the duo fitting in well.
"In terms of John Okoth and Floyd, it’s very exciting
for the future of Kenya Sevens. John Okoth is well known to Kenya rugby
followers through his exploits with the Simbas (Kenya men’s national fifteens
team). He is a big, powerful, skillful player who will offset the loss of Vincent
Onyala to a great degree,” he explained. “Johnnie’s not quite sevens fit but we
know that he can come and do a job in short bursts and we know as the season
goes on he’s going to get better."
He continued, “For Floyd, this is a chance to give him a
taste of senior rugby, he’s trained so well. He’s come from nowhere on the
National Sevens Circuit…he wasn’t picked out by the selectors but he was
someone who caught my eye and he deserves this opportunity as he’s shone very
well in training. He is a long way from the finished article but I think he is
going to be a fixture in the sevens group for a while to come.”
With off-field issues now seemingly over after the recent
sponsorship, McGrath is pumped up going into the Hamilton leg, despite being in
a tough group A together with Samoa, Fiji and France.
"Hamilton’s going to be tough. As always, when you
don’t do well in the tournament before, the draw is very rarely kind to you. So
it would, in Hamilton, we’ve got what’s been described as the group of death.
We’ve got Samoa, Fiji and France who are three of the real big hitters, so it’s
going to be a tough ask of us in the group. However, that being said, I’m sure
none of the three teams will be looking forward to playing against us based on
our improvements in Dubai and Cape Town despite all the off field issues, I’m
positive about how we’re gonna go on this next trip.”
The team leaves for New Zealand on Friday 13 January at 11.55pm.
Want to send us a story? Submit on Wananchi Reporting on the Citizen Digital App or Send an email to wananchi@royalmedia.co.ke or Send an SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp on 0743570000
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a Comment