NAIROBI, Kenya, July 30 – Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Rugby 7s team coach Dennis ‘Ironman’ Mwanja believes there are more twists and turns to come in the National Sevens Circuit (NSC) after the opening leg at the Christie 7s, the past weekend.
Mwanja believes teams will now be battling with a better understanding of each other in light of their respective performances at this weekend’s event.
“I know for a fact…historically…after the first tournament it is when the targets are acquired and everyone will get their rhythm going. The beat has started; it’s like a dance and now everyone will get their rhythm. The teams that manage to reach the finals will definitely have to battle very hard to remain there because all other teams are now aware of them. For example, Catholic (Monks) will be a very marked side, having gotten that far,” Mwanja said.
The NSC defending champions finished fifth at the past weekend’s edition of Christie 7s at the RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi, relinquishing the title they won at the same venue, last year.
They lost 12-5 to eventual winners Kabras Sugar in the quarters before concluding their campaign on a high courtesy of a 27-12 win over the 2022 NSC champions Menengai Oilers.
The false start notwithstanding, Mwanja believes there is a long way to go, exuding confidence of his charges’ ability to win the remaining six legs of the circuit.
“What we now need from our side is getting higher than the fifth position to the finals and then…winning. If possible, as they say, the lucky bounce of the ball…if we are blessed, then we can go on and win the remaining legs. It has happened in this circuit before,” the former Kenyan international said.
This coming weekend’s second leg in Kakamega offers the bankers to right the wrongs of Christie 7s.
“We are not competing with anyone…we are looking at improving where we fell short. Our basics…we started off slow, our defensive lapses…all those things that made us fall short. Once we improve on that, the rest of the things will fall in place,” he said.
A positive going forward is the expected return of members of the team who have been at the Paris Olympics with the national team, including co-captain Vincent Onyala and Samuel Asati, as well as strength and conditioning coach Andrew Amonde.
Although their return will be a massive boost no doubt, Mwanja insists he will not basing his gameplan on the reintroduction of the trio.
“They will definitely bring a lot of spark in the team but we would like to carry on by not putting our hope in them because we have a squad of players who also need to be seen and to be picked for the national team. What better place to play than in the national 7s circuit and raise their hands to be seen. They are not in our basic plans…depending on the national team plans, if they are available then they have a position to compete for because they are not going to walk into the team and be given a jersey just because they compete at the Olympics,” he said.
