NAIROBI, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has selected a young rugby squad for the upcoming Africa Men's Sevens Cup in Monastir, Tunisia from Oct. 13-14.
The second string team without the experienced players will marshal their campaign to reclaim the Africa title from the grip of defending champion Uganda.
Head coach Innocent Simiyu has trimmed the team down from the initial 21 to 12 players and they will depart for Tunisia on Thursday.
"The players have proved themselves worthy of being in the national team having impressed in performance in the local Sevens circuit. I have trust in them to do well," said Simiyu on Monday in Nairobi.
This will be Simiyu's last assignment with Kenya team as he is expected to step down from his role at the end of the month.
Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) has since appointed Paul Murunga as his replacement and his first assignment will be to lead Kenya in the Safaricom Sevens next month where over eight foreign teams including Portugal and USA have been invited.
Simiyu believes his team will win the Africa Men's Sevens Cup and will want his young squad to continue their growth trend and claim slots in the senior team ahead of the World Series, which starts in Dubai in December.
Among the players who have been retained for the Africa Cup include Leonard Mugaisi, Alvin Otieno, Michael Wanjala, Herman Humwa, Cyprian Kuto and Charles Owino.
They are joined by Brian Wahinya, who was in the Kenya team academy and was part of the squad that won the Victoria Falls 7s earlier this year.
Those who will be making their debut show on the Africa and international scene include Daniel Taabu, Eliakim Kichoi, Derrick Keyoga, Benjamin Marshall and Gramwel Bunyasi.
Kenya, the top seed in the tournament owing to its top ranking in the World Series, are in Pool A together with Morocco and Botswana. Defending Champions Uganda lead Pool B which also groups Senegal and Ghana.
Pool C has Zimbabwe, hosts Tunisia and Mauritius while Madagascar, Namibia and Zambia make Pool D.
The first two teams in each pool will qualify for the quarterfinals. Enditem
