NAIROBI, Kenya, February 9, 2026 – National men’s rugby 7s head coach Kevin ‘Bling’ Wambua believes that pressure from the fans will spur the team to success at the HSBC Division 2 Tournament at the Nyayo Stadium, this weekend.
Wambua admits pressure will be on Shujaa to perform but insists it is the kind that the doctor ordered for.
“That’s a good kind of pressure for us because now it’s our friends who are cheering us. It’s your family who’s cheering you, the whole stadium is cheering you on. So definitely, we are going to draw energy from that to be able to perform,” the coach said.
Wambua added: “Looking back to what fans do for us; they really push us a lot in Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, everywhere we travel. hey really push us a lot, act like the 13th player for us so just having this tournament here at home, the whole stadium is going to be by our side.”
He further said the technical bench have worked overtime to prepare the players wholly, including handling the pressure to deliver on home soil.
“Of course, us hosting this tournament, I know there’s a lot of pressure. We’ve decided to ease that pressure on the players and just tell them to focus on the game itself,” the former Mwamba RFC head coach said.
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The tournament being held on the Valentine’s weekend, Wambua is optimistic it will be a great show of the love that Kenyans have for Shujaa as well as for the women counterparts — Kenya Lionesses.
He has promised that they will repay the love with exemplary performances on the pitch.
“Couldn’t be on a better day. I mean, 14th and 15th, everybody show up there. Come with your friends, come with your loved ones, show love to the Shuja and Lionesses and they’re going to show love back to you guys,” Wambua said.
Beyond the tournament, Wambua is confident that its effects will be seismic and felt for a long time to come.
“I mean, hosting this kind of tournament shows that we have the resources and we have the staff to do it. Now it’s upon us just to make sure that we put our best foot forward and play well,” the gaffer said.
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Wambua was speaking at RFUEA Grounds after naming a 12-man squad for the two-day tournament.
Bar the usual suspects, the gaffer has handed a debut to Impala RFC youngster David Nyangige.
Wambua waxed lyrical about the Morans star, saying Nyangige has done enough to earn his place in the squad.
” David is quite a good player. If you look at him, he’s got a very good game understanding. Having played age grade, he also has the skills to back it up so for us, he’s a good fit. He’s been part of the system, was with the squad in the Safari Sevens. He travelled with the squad in Zimbabwe so for him, it’s a step up, but it’s a step up that he’s ready to take,” he said.
Overall, Wambua has underlined their intentions to suffocate their opponents by dominating possession.
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“For us, of course, we know the weather is going to act in our favour, but also we can’t just underestimate that. We have to make sure that, like I said before we have to make sure that we control the game. That means we have to have more possession vary the intensities and how we want to play,” the coach said.
Kenya will be up against five other opponents in the round-robin competition including the United States, Canada, Germany, Belgium and Uruguay.
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