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Nairobi - Kenya have named former player Innocent Simiyu as their new Sevens rugby coach after failing to nab New Zealand legend Gordon Tietjens.
Simiyu, a former national team captain takes over from fellow Kenyan Benjamin Ayimba on a two-year contract, and he is tasked to lead Kenya in the opening leg of the 2017 Sevens World series in Dubai in December.
"Simiyu came out on top of the list during the interviews, hence his appointment," Kenya Rugby Union chairman Richard Omwela told a news conference on Monday.
It had been widely reported that Tietjens would be joining the Kenyan team.
However Tietjens, who stepped down from his coaching position with the All Blacks Sevens after a disappointing 2016 Olympic campaign, decided to go with the Samoa Sevens squad.
Omwela said Simiyu, who captained the Kenya Sevens squad between 2006 and 2008, would be assisted by a team of four local coaches.
Their task is to turn around the fortunes of the Kenyan team which under-performed at the Rio Olympics, where they did not win a single match.
"We seem to have moved away from how to play the Sevens and that is what Innocent has to work on. We want to improve on our number eight position in the HSBC World Sevens rankings," Omwela added.
Kenya are drawn in Pool D of the Dubai Sevens alongside France, Japan and Australia.
