Coach of Kenyan team, Paul Murunga believes, despite the low rating of Nigeria in the continent, the West African would not be a pushover when both teams battle today in the 2016 Africa Rugby Cup Sevens at the Safaricom Stadium, Kasarani.
As the best ranked team in Group A which has host – Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal, the tournament will be used to rate the teams from the continent with top teams in each group advancing to semi-final stage.
“You can only dismiss such sides at your own peril,” said Murunga adding that Nigeria and Senegal, who were at Rio qualifiers last year, have good ball carriers. “However, our speed and skills should carry us through devoid of stage fright.”
The Kenyan team for Africa Cup features players who stood out for their clubs during the just concluded National Sevens Series have been listed for the tournament.
Captain of Nigeria’s Black Stallions, Azeez Ladipo would not be intimidated by the pedigree of their opponents in the group, adding that they are aiming for the best outing.
“We are not going to be scared of any team because we prepared very well for this tournament. We are hopeful that we can do better than what we achieved in 2015. Having featured in the Rio Olympic Qualifiers and with the experience we garnered, we can do well this time around,” Ladipo said.
Ladipo believes with the quality of their training in the last one week, they can improve on their previous outings in the championship.
For the Technical Director of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF), Olatunji Fasimoye, the quality of Kenyan team would not intimidate the Nigerian team in their opening match.