Kenya sets sights on retaining Singapore Sevens rugby title
Fiji, South Africa and England may be the form sides, but expect an open Sevens this weekend
Fiji may have stunned the excellent South Africans 22-0 at the Hong Kong leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series on Sunday.
And they may be one of few teams on song ahead of this weekend's Singapore leg of the series, alongside an England team who have been very consistent in the seven of 10 legs that have been played.
But Kenyan rugby star Collins Injera believes that Singapore suits his team fine, and they will be looking to retain the Singapore Sevens title they won by beating Fiji 30-7 last year.
"England and South Africa have been outstanding... Those are the two teams that have set the mark this season. Playing against them (in previous series) was a good thing, the more we play those top games, the more we improve as well," he said.
"Coming into this tournament, we are the defending champions. Definitely (winning) is our ultimate goal.
"But we've had an up and down season, we've not been really hitting our targets.
"We just want to get that first game out of the way and try to build the momentum as we move forward."
Kenya have yet to win a leg of the series this season, and have been placed in a tough Pool C, alongside Argentina, Australia and Samoa. Injera, 30, believes that a good start - against the Argentinians - is critical to Kenya retaining their title.
He said: "The boys are pumped up. Out of the 12 guys, we have only five who were here last year. So the other guys who've come in are really psyched up, they want to get it going.
IDEAL WEATHER
"Singapore is a nice destination for us, this is the kind of weather that we like. Our first game on Saturday will be crucial, if we can build momentum from there, it will be good for the rest of tournament."
Former All Blacks sevens coach Sir Gordon Tietjens, believes that Injera is not far off the mark in his assessment.
"In the sevens game, on any given day, any team can beat any team and go on to win a tournament. You just have to be up for it," said Tietjens, who is leading the Samoan side.
South Africa have won four of the seven legs before the Singapore stop and are the favourites along with England, who have two wins under their belt.
Few will doubt the talent in a Fiji side that struck gold at last year's Rio Olympics, but Tietjens believes that other teams can surprise too.
"The United States are there or thereabouts in the last few years. They've got a few experienced players and they've got pace on their side, and also several Pacific Island boys... who understand and can play the game," he said.
The Americans have also impressed France manager Christophe Reigt, who believes there may be some upsets this weekend.
"Argentina and United States have shown good form and they are very difficult teams to break down. They are dark horses for this tournament," said Reigt, who added his France side to that list.
"They have a high work rate and are good on the break. They could win this tournament if they have a really good day."
Tickets are available at www.singapore7s.sg
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