Its a moment of truth for relegation-threatened Shujaa at the Singapore Sevens on April 8 as they aim to find the form to save their core status for next season.
In what has been a dismal season, Shujaa are placed 13th on the log with 30 points and in a dogfight alongside Uruguay, Canada and Japan and Spain.
Following the Singapore leg, only two tournaments will be left on the season calendar with Toulouse and London next month.
Strathmore Leos’ Brunson Madigu comes in for the injured Tony Omondi while Edmund Anya will have a late fitness test after picking up a knock during last weekend’s Hong Kong sevens.
Kenya have been placed in a favourable pool for the City state event where they are in Pool C.
They open their campaign against high-flying France set for 6:20 am East Africa Time.
France are placed third overall on the log and have qualified automatically for next year’s Olympic games as hosts.
The two teams clashed in Hamilton, New Zealand in January with the Europeans winning 26-21.
The French have had the upper hand in recent meetings, winning 31-0 in Toulouse and 38-14 in London last year. Kenya’s sole success came in Hamilton in 2022 winning 26-15.
Shujaa’s second preliminary match will be against Mike Friday’s USA outfit at 9:24 am.
The two sides have met once this season in the Sydney sevens in January with the Americans winning 26-19.
Kenya’s final match will be against Uruguay at 1:07 pm. The two sides have met three times with the South Americans winning twice 21-19 in Vancouver in March and 10-7 in Hong Kong in November last year with Shujaa winning 24-19 in Sydney.
Shujaa skipper Nelson Oyoo has termed this tournament make or break with the threat of relegation looming large: “It’s a tricky pool any team can beat each other but we want to go all out and ensure we are in the quarterfinals of the Main Cup,” Oyoo presumed.
He added “ This week we have looked at our kickoff reception, decision making and defence and we must make adjustments in our play in order for us to have a chance” noted Oyoo.
The top two teams in each pool qualify for the Cup quarterfinals while the teams that finish third and fourth drop to the classification matches on April 9
