NAIROBI, Kenya, March 10 – Kenya Rugby Football Union (KRFU) has partnered with South African side Western Province to help develop the national 15s team.
KRFU secretary general Frank Sabwa said that the union has signed a memorandum of understanding with the influential rugby body who will advise the team on various facets of the game.
“We are going to send the team to Western Province where they will work on their strength and conditioning,” said Sabwa.
Upcoming players will also have the opportunity to train in South Africa for a year to develop their burgeoning talent.
“The other thing we want to do on a long term basis is to take the top five under 20 players for a one year stint in South Africa so that we can improve skills and performance at elite rugby level,” said Sabwa.
Western province is one of the leading unions in the rainbow nation and boasts several Springboks such as Jean de Villiers, Schalk Burger and Ricky Januarie on their payroll.
Sabwa was speaking on Tuesday at the unveiling of Heineken as the official beer of the Bamburi Rugby Super Series.
Ruwenzori and Victoria were announced as the Uganda franchises who will feature in the seventh edition of the tournament.
“Uganda are now playing very good rugby. Bringing them on board will definitely raise the quality of the tournament and eventually the biggest in Africa,” said series’ chairman Aggrey Chabeda.
Chabeda added that the rule stating that franchises should select at least two under-21 players in their line ups will in the long term benefit of Kenyan rugby.
“This will develop our under 21 side because this are the players who are expected to be fighting for the world cup four years from now,” said Chabeda.
Chief Executive of Heineken’s accredited distributors Maxam Limited, Ngugi Kiuna said that the beer’s association with the tournament shows that Heineken has gained acceptance in the cream of Kenyan sports and society.
“This sponsorship therefore gives us the opportunity to leverage our international sponsorship in Kenya,” said Kiuna.
