Kenya's rugby team receives heroic reception

 　　NAIROBI, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- For the first time in the 2011/ 2012 IRB World Sevens Series, the Kenyan national team made a triumphant² return on Thursday from a series tour after their Bowl and Plate winning performances in Wellington and Las Vegas legs.

　　Sponsors Kenya Airways³ treated the side that delayed their arrival by a day after they missed their London connection flight home to a sumptuous⁴ breakfast as the feel good factor drifted back to the game after a nightmare start to the series.

　　In the midst of the smiles, high fives and glowing words of praise ravaged⁵ on the squad⁶, it was not lost to those present that the resounding⁷ success of the latest tour was embedded⁸ on the fielding of seasoned campaigners.

　　Team captain, Sydney Ashioya, one of the bedrocks of the side since 2006 when Kenya started her ascent⁹ in the IRB Sevens Series, took the opportunity to once again call on sustained investment in developing the side.

　　"We need to blend our youth and experienced players much faster and in a better way because if we keep relying on the old dogs, once they leave we get the situation we were in the first two tournaments.

　　"We need young players coming through to learn from the old guys the tricks they have and be able to build a more consistent side instead of relying on two or three guys. We need to ensure we can put out 12 good players at any time," Ashioya said.

　　He shifted his focus on the forthcoming expanded Hong Kong Sevens that will feature 24 sides as opposed to 12 next month with Kenya keen on a performance that will go a long way in preserving her status as one of the core sides of the tournament when the International Rugby Board (IRB) makes the review.

　　"We will still play the six games we play in any tournament. It might be a bit different since they are thinking of increasing the core teams so it will be a bit more competitive and it will be a real challenge that we want to sit down and plan.

　　"Going forward, we are bracing¹⁰ ourselves for a tough tournament, it will be much harder than where we are coming from but we are intent on producing a similar performance," the captain who scored four tries in the Hertz Sevens in Wellington where Kenya beat Australia 12-7 in the Bowl Final said.

　　The team moved on to register their first Main Cup quarterfinal appearance before beating Argentina 21-7 in the Plate final following a 14-19 loss to Samoa in the last eight.

　　"A lot more experienced hands travelled in the team and it was much easier to get the systems going and going forward, it is my hope we shall have the same team so that we can consolidate¹¹ the gains we made," he said.

　　Ashioya was among the 12 players who returned on Wednesday with iconic all time leading try scorer, Humphrey Kayange who marked his return to the side for the last two legs travelling to join Bristol University for his Masters.

　　South Africa based David Ambuya also returned to his institution with head coach, Mitch Ocholla saying Kenya Rugby Union would make all effort to ensure the dependable pair would be available for the Hong Kong and Japan.

　　"There is still room for improvement since I believe we should be playing in the Main Cup final in the upcoming tournaments. Technically¹² we were much better this time but there still a lot of ground to be covered," the head coach added.

　　Biko Adema and Ken¹ Moseti who replaced Michael Wanjala and Victor Oduor who were injured in Wellington returned a day earlier since they had separate ticketing arrangements.

　　In his address, Kenya Airways CEO, Titus Naikuni, urged the team management to convene¹³ soon to review their performances before preparing for the next couple of outings.

　　"The team should sit down with a piece of paper and note down all what they did right and all they did wrong and work on eliminating what did not go according to plan," he added.

1 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

2 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

3 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

4 sumptuous   

adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的

参考例句：

• The guests turned up dressed in sumptuous evening gowns.客人们身着华丽的夜礼服出现了。
• We were ushered into a sumptuous dining hall.我们被领进一个豪华的餐厅。

5 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

6 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

7 resounding   

adj. 响亮的

参考例句：

• The astronaut was welcomed with joyous,resounding acclaim. 人们欢声雷动地迎接那位宇航员。
• He hit the water with a resounding slap. 他啪的一声拍了一下水。

8 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

9 ascent   

n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高

参考例句：

• His rapid ascent in the social scale was surprising.他的社会地位提高之迅速令人吃惊。
• Burke pushed the button and the elevator began its slow ascent.伯克按动电钮，电梯开始缓慢上升。

10 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

11 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

12 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

13 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。