This archive report was first published on 11 December 2019.
Kenya Sevens head coach Paul Feeney is set to introduce new defensive and attack strategies ahead of their matches against Samoa, Australia, and Ireland in Pool “D” at the South Africa Sevens in Cape Town, starting on Friday.
Feeney praised his team's performance in Dubai, despite not winning any matches in the pool stage, saying they have shown they can compete effectively.
He noted that South Africa's win in Dubai, with England finishing third, demonstrated the level of opposition Kenya faced in Dubai.
Feeney emphasized that there is no room for complacency for Kenya Sevens in Cape Town, where they will face Samoa and Australia, who finished fourth and fifth respectively in Dubai.
Kenya finished 13th in Dubai after edging out Scotland 24-14 in the play-off, having previously lost to South Africa (17-12), England (12-5), and Spain (22-19) in the pool stage.
“Dubai shows how competitive teams are, hence we just need to polish and tidy up some areas,” said Feeney. “I am changing the team’s defensive pattern slowly, and it depends on how quickly they will understand it...it’s a new learning curve.”
Feeney explained that they are working on the team’s attack, which proved sluggish, giving their opponents an advantage.
“Our opponents had some heavy line in attack, a speed which we need to adapt to in order to match them. We need to also attack wide by running the ball,” said Feeney, adding that having had 11 weeks with the team, he is confident they will match their opponents.
Feeney said he would endeavour to give all the players in his entourage an opportunity to play, citing his relatively new status as head coach as a reason for wanting to assess each player's capabilities.
