NAIROBI, Kenya, July 31 – The national rugby 7s team’s qualification to the HSBC World Series will increase competition in the National Sevens Circuit (NSC) and boost the quality of the annual tournament.
Kabras Sugar RFC coach Felix Ayange says the chance to feature for Shujaa in the prestigious competition will spur many players to give their all on the pitch.
“The competition is way better…so to speak. Looking at a few upsets witnessed over the weekend…Nondies beating KCB and Monks beating Nondies. You cannot be too sure of the team you are going to meet. Everyone has put their hand up for selection now that Kenya is back to the World Series,” Ayange said.
He added: “I think that has also contributed to the competition being the way it is. Many guys want to be part of the national team and feature in the World Rugby Series.”
The inaugural leg of this year’s NSC – Christie 7s – was staged at the RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi where the 2017 champions beat hosts Kenya Harlequin 17-12 to lift the crown.
With five more legs left to go, Ayange expects competition to become stiffer as teams begin to get their groove.
“As the tournament goes by, teams get fitter…they get to do more analysis on their opponents. It is just a matter of chopping and changing a few things here and there because I am sure defences will get better…attacks will get better as well,” he said.
As far as the sugar millers are concerned, the coach is conscious of the fact that their performance over the weekend was not the best yet.
“The boys did put up a good show for this tournament. We just had to take it one game at a time. We made mistakes along the way but I am happy with the way the boys conducted themselves,” the former Kabras Sugar player said.
He added: “Winning here sets a good tone for the next leg (in Kakamega). We want to continue with this marvelous performance…yes, it wasn’t as crisp as we would like but we would like to continue with this good result come our home tournament next weekend.”
The sugar millers will be welcoming 15 other teams at the Kakamega Showground on Saturday and Sunday for the inaugural edition of the Kakamega 7s.
They face Kisumu’s Western Bulls, Masinde Muliro University and Kenyatta University Blak Blad in Pool A.
A source of joy for Ayange as they prepare for battle is Eric Cantona who was named the most valuable player (MVP) at the Christie 7s.
The coach is proud of the gigantic leaps the former Quins man has made in his game.
“He’s actually stepped up from last season…he joined us a season ago and has been improving day in, day out. He’s quite an influential player and has been learning from the guys who have been there and done it before. We want to make him a better player and if the national team comes calling then we will be happy to expose him,” he said.
