Brothers Collins Injera and Humphrey Kayange have both been included in the Kenya Sevens squad for the fourth and fifth rounds of the 2011/12 HSBC Sevens World Series.
Coach Mitch Ocholla will be boosted by the return of the two star players as his side currently sit 14th in the standings with just five points ahead of the tournaments in Wellington, New Zealand on 3-4 February and Las Vegas, USA a week later.
“Our focus heading into this stretch of the Series is starting our campaign on a high, targeting a minimum of two wins during the pool matches which will put us in good stead for qualification to the main Cup quarter finals," said Ocholla.
"We shall move on from there one step at a time. The key thing for Kenya Sevens is to improve on the performances from the opening three legs.
"We have included Kayange, whose departure to the United Kingdom for further studies has been held back slightly owing to a delay in processing his travel papers."
Sidney Ashioya retains the captain’s armband whilst Lavin Asego, Victor Oduor, Michael Wanjala, David Ambunya and Linus Simiyu also return to the squad.
"We have revamped the squad travelling to New Zealand and the USA with the aim of improving on our performances during the last legs of the Series. We have included a number of players who had been unavailable owing to work and academic commitments," added Kenya Rugby Union Chairman Mwangi Muthee.
“Humphrey is a leader and mentor, his guidance to the younger players will greatly help the team.
"We are looking at having the team fully professional in the near future. We call upon Kenyans to be patient as we rebuild the team with an eye to the future."
Following the pool draw in South Africa, Kenya face pool matches with France, Australia and Canada at the Westpac Stadium.
Kenya Sevens squad for New Zealand and USA Sevens: Sidney Ashioya (captain) , Lavin Asego, Collins Injera, Victor Oduor, Leon Adongo, Humphrey Kayange, Patrice Agunda, Oscar Ouma, Linus Simiyu, Michael Wanjala, Horace Otieno, David Ambunya
