Nairobi, July 18 (IANS): Michael Owila's dream of making his Kenya 7s debut at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games went up in smoke when his visa to travel to Britain could not be processed in time.
Owila, who was handed his first call-up by South African head coach Paul Treu after impressing in the botched Kenya 15s campaign for Rugby World Cup (RWC) qualification in Madagascar, will be replaced by regular Biko Adema, who was initially axed from the squad to accommodate the local side Nakuru RFC eighth man, reports Xinhua.
Kenya Rugby Union confirmed Thursday that Adema had packed his bags and travelled to Scotland to link up with the team that is aiming to break into the medals at the Club Games that start next weekend.
Owila was part of the 15s team that fell short of 2015 RWC qualification at the final hurdle when they lost their last game 10-28 to Zimbabwe in the round robin format Confederation of African Rugby Division 1A Championships.
The 7s squad is the only team sport Kenya will be participating at the Glasgow Games and are aiming to clinch one of the top four places that will guarantee their qualification for the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio where the shorter version of the game is making its debut.