NAIROBI, Kenya, June 10 – Former national sevens technical adviser Christophe Rouchaleou will handle a French select sevens team in next weekend’s Tusker Safari Sevens at the Rugby Football Union of East Africa (RFUEA) ground.
Terry Bouhraoua who plays for Top 14 powerhouse Stade Francais will captain the side that also includes Beziers’ Vincent Berreire and Pierre Kleur from Tarbes in Pro Div 2 returns after playing in the Safari Sevens last year.
Berreire played for France in the last two legs of the 2008/09 IRB Sevens World Series in London and Edinburgh.
Meanwhile, four referees have also been named for this year’s tournament.
Top Kenyan referees Godwin Karuga and John Bosco Muamba are in the list and will be joined by Johannes (Joey) Salmans from the South Africa Rugby Union (SARU) and David Rose from the English RFU.
They will join other referees who will be named in due course for the three-day tournament which kicks off on Friday June 19 at the Rugby Football Union of East Africa (RFUEA) ground.
Muamba is on the IRB Talent Identification Programme (TIP) while Karuga has a wealth of experience in the middle for Africa Rugby Confederation (CAR) matches.
Both referees have also had experience in the IRB Sevens World Series. Bosco’s recent high-profile appointment was during the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy in April in Nairobi.
Rose is a qualified IRB Trainer and will, in addition, conduct a Coaching of Match Officials’ course on Wednesday June 17 and Thursday June 18, ahead of the tournament.
"This course is one of the legacy aspects of this year’s Safari Sevens. Our intention is to ensure that we move further and further from unqualified comment on match official performance and closer to technically effective support," said Fred Ollows, KRFU Development Manager.
Other referees being considered are from England, South Africa and Namibia. Safari Sevens, a Premier tournament in Africa has been a good breeding ground of players and referees who usually end up in the top rungs.
“We are considering elite referees because of the increased profile of the tournament. Since we are now playing host to many national and professional players, we will now seek higher end match officials," said Ian Amogola, Chairman of the Kenya Rugby Referees Society.
"In fact, we are also going to use highly qualified match reviewers and match officials’ coaches. Some of the officials in this tournament are currently involved with the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa," he added.
