Highly-rated Victor Mola handed debut as Kenya Morans plot title defense in Mauritius

The Kenya Morans squad heading to Mauritius for the 2024 Rugby Africa 7s tournament has been announced by head coach Louis Kisia.

Morans, who serve as the second men’s national 7s side behind Shujaa, sees the return of Denis Abukuse, William Mwanji and Festus Shiasi who all last featured for the national team in the first leg of the 2024 Challenger Series held in Dubai back in January.

Edmund Anya, who last played for the team when Shujaa was relegated from the 2023 World Rugby 7s Serie, returns to the team and will be one of the more experienced players.

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Highly-rated Amon Wamalwa, who had a high-performance stint in South Africa also makes up the squad alongside fast-rising Strathmore Leos player Victor Mola who receives his first callup to the national team.

He had been called up to the team earlier but an injury saw him miss out on the opportunity to play for Kenya 7s.

Mola’s teammate Richard Liva and Gabriel Ayimba, who have all been training with Shujaa during the Challenger Series have also been included in the team alongside Joel Inzuga.

The talented Ben Salem and Brian Mutua will be the co-captains in the squad.

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“We’ve had sufficient preparations at Kasarani ahead of the Africa 7s this weekend thanks to KRU and NOCK for ensuring the Morans side trains with the Shujaa squad.

We have had HP sessions led by the Kenya Sevens S&C Coach Andrew Amonde which have contributed heavily to our preparations for this tournament. We have received input from the Head Coach on our preparations and I believe the team is ready to roar in Mauritius,” Kisia said..

“Inzuga has represented Morans before, Wamalwa has been part of the larger squad set up, Brian Mutua, Ben Salem, Denis Abukuse, Elvis Olukusi, Festus Shiasi, William Mwanji, Richard Liva and Gabriel Ayimba have all been training with the Shujaa during the HSBC Challenger Series period. Edmund Anya returns since last season and his experience will be key in our set up,” added Louis.

“Our target in Mauritius is the gold medal. We want to replicate our performance during the 2023 Rugby Africa 7s tournament. The team knows our objective and are ready to conquer Africa for the second year running,” concluded Louis.

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The 2024 tournament will be played across two weekends with the team having the highest point tally being crowned champions.

Pool A:  Kenya, Nigeria, Madagascar, Mauritius

Pool B: Uganda, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Ivory Coast

Pool C: Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana, Algeria

Morans squad to Mauritius

1. Brian Mutua (CC). 2. Ben Salem (CC). 3. William Mwanji. 4. Dennis Abukuse. 5. Elvis Olukusi. 6. Richard Liva. 7. Gabriel Ayimba. 8. Harmony Wamalwa. 9. Festus Shiasi. 10. Joel Inzuga. 11. Victor Odhiambo.* 12. Edmund Anya.

Head Coach: Louis Kisia Team ManagerM: Morgan Ngumbi Physio: John Elly

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