NAIROBI, Kenya, June 20 – The national sevens team will take on the Chairman’s Select side in the main cup quarter final of the Tusker Safari Sevens on Sunday.
The defending champions thrashed Japan 54-0 in their final Pool A game in front of a partisan crowd at the Rugby Football Union of East African (RFUEA) on Saturday.
“So far, so good for us. I’m glad we’re meeting Chairman’s because it will gives an opportunity to the guys who have been trying to get into the team a chance to test themselves against the guys who have kept them out,” said head coach Benjamin Ayimba.
The gulf in class between Kenya and their rivals was evident from the day’s opening whistle as the team which finished sixth overall in the 2008/2009 International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens series blew their Pool A adversaries out of the water.
Collins Injera who returned from trials with South African outfit Western Province got the chance to strut his stuff in front of an expectant home crowd with four tries on the first day.
Humphrey Kayange and captain and company laid down the marker with a 22 -5 victory over the Hamilton Raiders following it up by thrashing Tanzania 48-0.
Chairman’s which is captained by Brian Nyikuli caused the biggest upset of the day by beating 2005 champions Samoa 29-14 bouncing back from their 12-5 defeat to Les Bleu.
Their berth in the quarters was assured after an emphatic 37-0 win over Uganda.
“We are looking forward to playing Chairman’s. It’s definitely a step up from what we faced today,” said Kayange.
“We started slowly perhaps due to the chilly weather. It was just a matter of putting everything in place and we took off from there and I hope it will take us all the way to the final,” he added.
In the other main cup quarter finals, Zimbabwe will lock horns with Samurai, Emerging Springboks face off with Grenoble and Samoa clash with Hamilton Raiders.
In the bowl quarters, Japan play Uganda, Bristol have a date with Morocco, Shujaa play Zambia and Les Bleu tackle Tanzania.
The bowl quarters will commence at 10 a.m. while the main cup quarters start at 11.40 a.m.
Western Province retained the schools title after a comprehensive 19-0 win over their Nyanza counterparts.