When Shujaa take on France in their opening fixture at the Dubai SVNS, it will mark the end of a 559-day journey back to the World Series, since they were relegated in May of 2023, and what a journey it has been!
It is something of a dream that we are back to the World Series in such a short time, a miracle of sorts if you add the fact that we qualified for the 2024 Olympic games in the same period.
What it is though, is a testament to the work the team led by Kevin ‘Bling’ Wambua has put in since his appointment in August 2023.
When Bling and his team took over, we were basically at rock bottom, with little hope many, myself included had given him a three-year window to get us back to the series, given the obvious challenges that come with being a Kenya sevens head coach, his would be unique, as he would be the first head coach to take charge of the team outside the series in 19 years!
It took a month for us to see what the technical bench of Kevin Wambua, Andrew Amonde, and Steve Sewe, were working on, when Shujaa beat the Blitzbokke 17-12 to book Africa’s solo direct ticket to the 2024 Olympic games. It was the first indicator of how the technical bench had rallied the boys around a common belief and goal, playing beautiful sevens rugby, something we hadn’t seen in a long while.
Things would get even better in January of this year, as Shujaa laid the marker when they won the first leg of the Challenger Series, beating Chile 12-5 in a pulsating cup final. Third-place and fifth-place finishes in Montevideo and Munich, saw the side finish second in the overall Challenger standings, but more importantly, earned us a shot at the 2024/25 World Series.
In Madrid, Shujaa were on a mission, a narrow 19-12 win against Samoa set out a bit of jitters, which were compounded by a narrow 10-5 loss to Spain, those were quickly put to bed with a resounding 36-7 win over Chile (who we had made a habit of beating through the season).
Shujaa were now one game away from series qualification, in front of them, was a tricky German side that held a 2-1 win advantage in the season. All the work the team had put in, boiled down to the next 14 minutes and you could see they knew it, in true Shujaa fashion, they stood up to be counted!
A German try early on in the game, did little to dampen the Shujaa spirit, in fact, it seemed to awaken it, with an immediate response from captain fantastic Vincent Onyala, on their way to a commanding 33-15 result to claim promotion, to the joy of Kenyans, the world series host cities, World Rugby, and their sevens social media manager in particular! (I’d suggest you rewatch this game, here especially when Onyala knocked on close to his try box, then the German decided to go swimming in the next phase of play!)
The Shujaa return to a different-looking World series than the one they left a season ago, apart from the noticeable allergy to vowels that the series has developed in its general nomenclature, Shujaa (will they now be SHJ?) will be playing a much shorter calendar in 2025, with seven stops down from the 11 they played in 2022-23.
They’ll be playing in three pools of four, down from the four pools of four they left in 2023, with no place to hide. These two factors looked at together mean the team will have very little time or room to settle in. The side will have six legs to ensure that they finish inside the top 8, at the end of the Singapore leg to avoid a return to the playoff tournament, this time in Los Angeles, in May.
The three-day tournament format will now be a mainstay for the side, which means a bit more will be required in the tank for each leg.
Retaining World Series status this season provides a bigger challenge for the team, facing off against the best 11 sides on the planet, with little experience in the side. Seven of the 13 players picked for the Dubai and Capetown legs will be making their debut appearances at the World Series.
In typical Kenyan fashion, contractual disagreements have seen the team head to the first two legs without the influential duo of Tony Omondi and Vincent Onyala, an issue that has bedeviled the Shujaa since time immemorial, but that is a story for another day, we hope this one is resolved amicably.
That notwithstanding, it is a challenge that this team can surmount if what they did these last 559 days is anything to go by! We have a special set of players, led by a special technical bench, that can do it!
This fairy tale story of Shujaa’s journey back to the Series would have not been possible without the support of the Union (yes I know), you the fans, and most importantly the team sponsors, who created a conducive environment for the side to perform the way they did.
As mentioned, we are collectively facing a bigger challenge this season, which dictates that we need to increase our support for the team, in our individual and collective capacities. As fans, the Union, and sponsors, we need to fully back the boys to retain core status this season!
Finally, all the best to the boys as they claim their stake at the big boys’ table, we are fully behind you!
Up next… THE LIONESSES!
KWISHA… NIMERUKA NJE!!!
Btfl rtcl.