Utility Kenya Sevens player Vincent Onyala is likely to be named in the Shujaa team for the third leg of the World Rugby Sevens World Series that kicks off in Perth, Australia on January 23, 2023.

The Sports News Arena can confirm that Onyala who missed the opening two legs in Dubai and Cape Town, South Africa because of contractual obligations returned to training and it depends on a decision by the technical bench to include him in the squad. It was the KCB player who captained Shujaa to the Africa Sevens Cup and steered the team to a second place in the World Rugby Challenger Series.

Staunch Leadership

His staunch leadership saw Shujaa return to the Series after one year out in a tough qualification tournament in Madrid, Spain in May last year where the four top teams from the Challenger Series played against the bottom four teams in the Series.

When the squad for Dubai was named in November last year, Onyala and Tony Odongo missed out in what the Kenya Rugby Union explained were unresolved contractual issues. At the time, KRU stated they could only offer the players a reasonable contract based on what they had in the kitty.

The stalemate saw Shujaa miss two weeks of training because some of the players argued they should have been offered better packages. Odongo played for an invitational team, Shogun in Dubai and was included in the Cape Town leg after injury to Nakuru RFC’s Chrisant Ojwang.

Captain’s Band

In Onyala’s absence, the captain’s band was handed to George Ooro with Samuel Asati as one of the vice captains. 

The return of Onyala whose proven leadership abilities has been the mainstay of a resurgent Shujaa team is timely considering the tough Pool C draw in Perth Sevens where Shujaa have a date with New Zealand in the first match before tackling Fiji and Uruguay. The traveling squad shall be named today, Wednesday, January 15, 2025.

The draw for Perth Sevens, January 23-25

Men

Pool A: South Africa, Argentina, Australia, USA.

Pool B: France, Spain, Great Britain, Ireland.

Pool C: Fiji, New Zealand, Kenya, Uruguay.

Order of play: New Zealand v Kenya, Fiji v Uruguay, Spain v Great Britain, France v Ireland, Argentina v Australia, South Africa v USA, New Zealand v Uruguay, Fiji v Kenya, Spain v Ireland, France v Great Britain, Argentina v USA, South Africa v Australia, Kenya v Uruguay, Fiji v New Zealand, Great Britain v Ireland, France v Spain, Australia v USA, South Africa v Argentina.

2024/2025 World Rugby Sevens World Series venues and dates

Dubai: November 30- December 1, 2024.

Cape Town: December 7-8, 2024.

Perth: January 23-25, 2025.

Vancouver: February 21-23, 2025.

Hong Kong: March 28-30, 2025.

Singapore: April 5-6, 2025.Los Angeles: May 3-4, 2025.