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Unrecognizable men Sevens team perform dismally in Rio Olympics


An unrecognizable Kenya’s men rugby sevens team is virtually out of the running to win a medal at the ongoing Rio Olympics following a false start in their opening matches.

The Shujaa find themselves in this uncomfortable position, having succumbed to heavy defeats in the hands of Great Britain and New Zealand in Pool C matches on Tuesday.

Kenya was hammered 31-7 by team GB, and then, also humiliated 28-5 by the Kiwis in matches played in a span of five hours in Rio.

These losses were characterized by a lethargic display by the recently high-flying side, consisting a clear lack of fighting spirit, intimidating runs and very few Collins Injera-inspired runs through the wing.

For a moment, it even looked like the players could not recognize each other in their new look all-blue and red kits donned against Britain and New Zealand respectively.

This kit is supplied by the National Olympic Committee (NOCK)’s partners Nike and differs sharply with the all too familiar red, green and black kit manufactured by Samurai, and used by the national team during the IRB series competitions.

At some point, Billy Odhiambo’s shorts came down during the match against New Zealand.

“We are playing so poorly because the players can barely recognize each other in this ugly stuff,” Joseph Oloo commented on Facebook.

Following these results, Kenya have no choice other than register a heavy win at the expense of Japan when the two teams meet in the final group game on Friday, to retain a chance of progressing to the quarters.