Kenya Sevens co-captain Vincent Onyala is unfazed by the prospect of playing powerhouses South Africa in the Africa Sevens championship-cum-Olympic qualifier next month in Zimbabwe.

The rangy forward, who missed the better part of the World Sevens Series due to a knee injury, said the team has nothing to fear in playing Africa's top side in Harare in a month's time.

“Our past meetings have been close. We have beaten them before and if we are to meet in the final, it will be a battle of the ages. We will fight tooth and nail to ensure we qualify for the Olympics in Paris,” noted Onyala.

The side, known as the Blitzbokke, missed out on the top four automatic slots to qualify for the Olympics and will be paying for the first time in the qualifiers.

The side is also in transition with several new players, something that is not lost on Onyala.

“From their performances, you can see they have struggled a bit but they are a quality outfit and if we face them, it will be a competitive match,” said Onyala.

Onyala takes over the reign of the captaincy from Nelson Oyoo, who is currently in Canada on a short-term contract.

The KCB skipper said with the influx of new players in the squad, competition for places in the squad is quite intense in the hunt for a slot in the final 18-man squad — which will play in the Africa Sevens Championship and Challenger Series next year.

"Training has been intense. Everyone wants to be part of the squad and it's good when you see new faces in the squad who will bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the squad which is good,” said Onyala.

Onyala, who will be assisted by Tony Omondi of Mwamba, said culture and minimising the errors from last season will be vital if Shujaa is to get back to the World Seven Series for the 2023-2024 season.

"Last year, the team had major challenges like lack of pay, and I am happy that issue has been addressed. From a technical standpoint, there are several facets of our play we have to address if we are to regain our core status," said Onyala.

Shujaa have embarked on a four-day training camp in Nakuru where they will play a Uganda-select side, Menengai Oilers and Nakuru RFC as part of the build-up matches.