Shujaa captain Onyala names who will take Patrick Odongo's mantle ahead of Uruguay leg

CHALLENGER SERIES Shujaa captain Onyala names who will take Patrick Odongo's mantle ahead of Uruguay leg

Mark Kinyanjui 05:30 - 04.03.2024

Onyala believes Lamec Ambetsa will be equal to the task in Patrick Odongo's absence for the side's tour of Uruguay at the ongoing HSBC Challenger Series.

Shujaa co-captain Vincent Onyala has placed his faith in Kabras Sugar winger Lamec Ambetsa to step up in Uruguay in place of Patrick Odongo, who will miss through injury.

Odongo is out with a six-week jaw injury that will prevent him from building on his heroics in Dubai and Harare, where he single-handedly inspired Shujaa to Olympic qualification and their quest to return to the top of world sevens rugby,

Speaking exclusively to Pulse Sports, Onyala, who also captains KCB, revealed that Lamec was equally up to the task from the flanks.

“Going into the camp in Turi, we have come a long way, and the cohesion that the boys have had now that we are not going to have Odongo playing on the wing, we will instead have Lamec, who is equally well able.”

Lamec is currently in a race to finish as the top try scorer of the ongoing 2023/2024 Kenya Cup season, which unsurprisingly has caught the attention of Shujaa head coach Kevin Wambua.

Meanwhile, Onyala admits Shujaa were “lucky” to finish top in Dubai considering there were still weaknesses about their game that was exposed when they lost to Germany which they have since worked on to get even stronger.

“Going into Dubai, I think we had secured ourselves a target of getting into the top four position,” said Onyala.

“We got lucky and finished first which is a good boost heading into Uruguay. It allows us to know where we are, focusing on the nitty gritties of the game, knowing where we are and what Uruguay has to offer as we prepare to go on.

“We’ve worked on our areas of focus and going into the pool, we are hopeful and know we are going to top it because of the preparations that we have had.”

Onyala has embraced the competition for places in Shujaa, as Wambua made five changes to the winning team in Dubai.

“The current squad requires competition where, if you snooze a bit the tech team approaches you and takes you through the processes needed for you to get back your form.

“Those on form are the once who get to don the playing jersey.”

Follow Pulse Sports WhatsApp channel for more news.

Tags: