This archive report was first published on 19 July 2021.
July 19, 2021 - In the lead-up to their opening Olympic match against USA in Tokyo on Monday morning, Kenya's National Rugby Sevens Coach Innocent 'Namcos' Simiyu says his team has had a productive week.
Shujaa is in Pool C alongside the USA, South Africa, and Ireland, and Simiyu is leaving nothing to chance as he looks to guide the team out of the group phase.
'We started off very slow in terms of acclimatising, but the boys have now fully acclimatized and are ready to go,' Simiyu said. 'We are quite happy with how they are progressing right now. We are just fine-tuning our game plans and getting ready for our first game against USA.'
Simiyu dismissed concerns about the hot and humid weather in Tokyo, saying it's nothing to worry about for the team, which is used to playing in similar conditions in Mombasa.
'We can't control the weather, but all in all, I believe our response will determine the outcome,' he said. 'For us, we are happy it's hot; it's weather we are used to back home. It's like playing in Mombasa.'
Simiyu also revealed that he has widened the team's game profile to desirable heights and believes he has a comfortable bag of arsenal in terms of attack and defence.
'We are a bit flexible or agile so to say and we will take it as it is,' he said. 'We hope our boys will give us a befitting performance from game one. The morale in camp is good as you can see all the boys are happy and ready to go.'
Simiyu is looking for that 1 percent improvement every day to fine-tune the team's game and get the requisite 1 percent.
-Alex Isaboke is reporting from Tokyo, Japan
