Stanislaus Shikoli - The Overlooked Strathmore Leos Enforcer - Finds his Mojo

Stanislaus Shikoli will most probably not make it to any team of the tournament during the SportPesa National 7s circuit. 

He does not tick most of the boxes which - those who pick the team of the tournament will be on the look out for. He is not a big marauding forward, with pace and power - think of Kevin Wekesa of Kabras. 

But here is an interesting stat: Shikoli so far has 7 tries to his name in the first two legs of the series - Driftwood and Prinsloo.  In last year’s circuit he had a total of 5 tries in all legs. 

In Mombasa two weeks ago, for the Driftwood 7s - Shikoli finished as the Leos highest try scorer with 4 tries. 

At Prinsloo, where Leos retained the 2025 title which was cut short by rain with Leos leading 24 -7, Shikoli was second with 3 tries. Victor “Mola” Odhiambo - had 8 tries to lead the Leos chart in Nakuru. 

Heavy rains hit Nakuru with 3 minutes to go, stopping play and since 75 per cent of the game had been played - Leos were awarded the win after KCB decided to accept the result as is. 

With a total of 7 tries in the 2025 circuit, Shikoli is 2nd among the Leos with Mola leading with 11 tries in total over the two legs. 

This means that in addition to defense and ball carrying abilities, Shikoli is adding tries to his game making him an all round threat to his opponents and a secret weapon to the Leos.  

It is interesting how Leos are using Shikoli. In their most crucial games, Shikoli starts, he is pushed to give an excellent 7 minutes - after which he is replaced at half time. 

In those 7 minutes in a game, he will either have scored a try or given a 2nd assist -- a very key metric because it tells as to whether he should go into contact or pass the ball.

Often Shikoli goes into contact and rarely loses the ball nor is he held up into contact. After his 7 minute shift Shikoli is often replaced by Samuel Wafula but by that time the Leos have already secured victory. Wafula comes on as a strong finisher - he had 3 tries coming on from the bench - during the Prinsloo 7s. 

It’s a tactical substitution which seems to be working very well for the Leos. 

Another deeper analysis is when Shikoli scores his tries. Most of his tries come during the knockout stage and they either - put Strathmore in the lead, bring them level or give the Leos a 5 point cushion. 

Perhaps, many will rightly argue that the Leos biggest threat is their backline - Mola, Nygel Amaitsa and ⁠Elton Amalemba add in Gabriel Ayimba who plays as a back and forward. 

But what if - opponents paid closer attention to Shikoli, would Strathmore be a lesser threat? Or is it that Shikoli is so underrated that nobody will give him a second look as Leos’ dangerman. 

Being numbers people - many would argue that I and or Tisini, produces a hew of numbers beyond the try stats. Sometimes though the numbers will not tell you everything, instead you have to look at the human emotion. 

At the end of a rain interrupted Prinsloo 7s finals, which Strathmore Leos were declared victorious with a 24 -7 victory over KCB two images after the match spoke volumes, much more than any on pitch action or number could say. 

Given the rain stoppage - Leos had been declared the winners - so their players, fans and coaching staff poured onto the pitch to celebrate. 

Usually a lot can be read from the excitement and hugs. 

One of the biggest and longest embraces was between Shikoli and Charles Cardovillis - who is part of the Leos’ technical bench. 

Shikoli actually lifted “Cardo” off his feet with the bear hug. It spoke volumes. 

Cardovillis in a Grey Shirt Embraces Shikoli after the final whistle at Prinsloo - 

The second image was at the end of it all when the Leos team kneeled down to say what was a prayer of thanks. 

Just outside the circle of players stood the coaches, Willis Ojal and Cardo. The pair make a deadly combination - Ojal is the motivator and Cado - the tactical guy - (Good Cop, Bad Cop - kind of play). 

Strathmore players kneel to - pray, we suppose  - as Ojal and Cado - overlook - 

Cado said their aim was to have Shikoli getting into Peak Performance at Prinsloo. “He is our enforcer. It is hard to pick what we are doing with Shikoli” Cado said. 

As the circuit breaks for two weeks, before Christie - Maybe teams will pick up what Leos is doing with Shikoli or maybe not.

Featured Image: Sportpesa