Nakuru Prinsloo 7's Update

The Quarter Final pairings KCB vs. Mean Machine, Nakuru vs. Mwamba, Strathmore vs. Masinde Muliro and Quins vs. Impala. Not much went against the form book on day one, but these pairings are all potentially explosive. Interesting to note the log leaders have the toughest matches. Will one of them fall off today?

In other news, Namibia have qualified for the Rugby World Cup Finals 2011 after a gritty hard fought 22-10 win over Tunisia in Windhoek yesterday. They go through on a 40-23 aggregate after winning the first leg 18 -13 in Tunis a fortnight ago. They will be Africa's other representative after South Africa.

Nakuru Prinsloo 7's Order of Play

Top seeds Kenya Harlequin open play against newcomers Homeboyz. My sources have not been very good this time and I don't know the composition of this team, but I expect it to be an invitational team with some mercenaries! Next up will Flames against USIU. The top matches of the day will be the closing ones from about 3.15 p.m. though the Mwamba vs. Masinde Muliro match at 1.35 should be one to savour. Complete order of play below.

Match No		Time		Home Team		Away Team
1		9:00 AM		QUINS	vs	HOMEBOYZ
2		9:00 AM		FLAMES	vs	USIU
3		9:25 AM		NAKURU	vs	KCA
4		9:25 AM		BLAKBLAD	vs	NONDIES
5		9:50 AM		KCB	vs	MOI UNIVERSITY
6		9:50 AM		MOMBASA POLY	vs	KABARAK UNI
7		10:15 AM		STRATHMORE	vs	SIAYA KMTC
8		10:15 AM		BUNGOMA RFC	vs	DAYSTAR
9		10:40 AM		IMPALA	vs	KENYA POLY
10		10:40 AM		MEAN MACHINE	vs	SILVERBACKS
11		11:05 AM		MASINDE MULIRO	vs	EGERTON
12		11:05 AM		KISUMU	vs	MWAMBA
13		11:30 AM		QUINS	vs	USIU
14		11:30 AM		FLAMES	vs	HOMEBOYZ
15		11:55 AM		NAKURU	vs	NONDIES
16		11:55 AM		BLAKBLAD	vs	KCA
17		12:20 PM		KCB	vs	KABARAK UNI
18		12:20 PM		MOMBASA POLY	vs	MOI UNIVERSITY
19		12:45 PM		STRATHMORE	vs	DAYSTAR
20		12:45 PM		BUNGOMA RFC	vs	SIAYA KMTC
21		1:10 PM		IMPALA	vs	SILVERBACKS
22		1:10 PM		MEAN MACHINE	vs	KENYA POLY
23		1:35 PM		MASINDE MULIRO	vs	MWAMBA
24		1:35 PM		KISUMU	vs	EGERTON
25		2:00 PM		USIU	vs	HOMEBOYZ
26		2:00 PM		NONDIES	vs	KCA
27		2:25 PM		KABARAK UNI	vs	MOI UNIVERSITY
28		2:25 PM		DAYSTAR	vs	SIAYA KMTC
29		2:50 PM		SILVERBACKS	vs	KENYA POLY
30		2:50 PM		MWAMBA	vs	EGERTON
31		3:15 PM		QUINS	vs	FLAMES
32		3:40 PM		NAKURU	vs	BLAKBLAD
33		4:05 PM		KCB	vs	MOMBASA POLY
34		4:30 PM		STRATHMORE	vs	BUNGOMA RFC
35		4:55 PM		IMPALA	vs	MEAN MACHINE
36		5:20 PM		MASINDE MULIRO	vs	KISUMU

For the uninitiated teams are seeded every round and the top seed is the winner of the previous round.. not the leader of the standings. The standings are Nakuru 50, Quins 49, Strathmore 36, Impala 32, Masinde Muliro 22, Kisumu 14, Nondescripts 8, Mwamba 5, Machine 6 and JKUAT 4. At this point it is a foregone conclusion that there will be a new National Sevens Circuit champion this year.

And don't say you were not warned about this.

Do have a good week and do enjoy the sevens.

Nakuru Prinsloo Draw Released

Kenya Harlequin are the top seeds for this weekend's Prinsloo Sevens in Nakuru. Hosts and runners up last weekend Nakuru are second seeded with KCB and Strathmore third and fourth in that order. The equalising rationalisation of points for the sixteen team tournaments to come close to the twenty four team ones means there is no real advantage in winning the bigger events now. Due to the quality of a vast majority of the teams gracing the larger events, it was long overdue. The 24-team events will always have a strange twist of fate due to the method of qualification for the quarter finals and this time, the inclusion of an unseeded Mwamba side has done this. They are in Pool E with Masinde Muliro, Kisumu and Egerton. Masinde Muliro university have stunned all with their consistency to lie sixth overall in the standings, over fancied Nondies, Mwamba, Machine and several other sides. All in all, it looks set to be an exciting weekend of sevens rugby.

Pool A: Quins, Flames, USIU, Homeboyz
Pool B: Nakuru, Nondies, Blak Blad, KCA
Pool C: KCB, Mombasa Poly, Kabarak, Moi University
Pool D: Strathmore, Bungoma, Daystar, Siaya KMTC
Pool E: Impala, Machine, Silverbacks, Kenya Poly
Pool F: Masinde Muliro, Kisumu, Mwamba, Egerton.

I will post the order of play once I get it.

IRB 7's : Kenya Rugby 7's Squad Announced

Guys, I apologise for having been too quiet but it has been a hectic period with exams having gotten the better of me and my mama is graduating on the 4th of December so you can imagine the running around that is going on to please her here and there. Anyway those are details that will be taken taken care of but sadly I will be lonely without her as I continue my pursuit of engineering knowledge and technological excellence. (She's welcome to stay with me anytime though).

That aside Mean Machine had a better show this passed weekend at the Christie Sevens compared to the Dala Sevens in Kisumu. Ayimbas presence makes a difference to the team as coach and I'm sure Nakuru will be good. My mama and I will be there as Nakuru is also home for her in some aspects. This time to my pleasure we do not have to go to Egerton to visit her sis as the whole mob will be there at the Nakuru Sevens.

The thrill of the day is that the 2009/10 IRB 7's journey for Kenya 7's has began. This makes me happy as following this team round the globe (at least on telly and the internet) gives me serious highs and my relationship with Mwenda's can resume again properly. I will not make any judgement with this post on the team but will reserve that for another time. The beauty is that we don't have to refer to the team as the 'Virgins' or 'Virgin Boys' as personally my mama and I couldn't stand that name. Thanks KQ for rescuing the team name and we shall happily refer to them as Shujaa.

The team though looks very conservative with Ayimba chosing those those he has faith with and no newcomers make the team as yet. Of course Kopondo makes the team.

Shujaa


Mwamba RFC's Humphrey Kayange retains the captain's arm band while Nakuru RFC's Gibson Weru remains the vice captain.

1.Humphrey Kayange (Mwamba RFC/Captain)
2.Gibson Weru (Nakuru RFC/Vice Captain)
3.Brian Nyikuli(Impala)
4.Victor Oduor (Harlequins)
5.Wilson Kopondo (Mean Machine)
6.Leon Adongo (Harlequins)
7.Charles Kanyi (Nondies)
8.Lavin Asego (Mwamba)
9.Innocent Simiyu (Impala)
10.Collins Inejra (Mwamba)
11.Horace Otieno(Mwamba)
12.Sidney Ashioya (Harlequins)

Non travelling reserves
1. Naftali Bondo (Harlequins).
2. Andrew Amonde (Kenya Commercial Bank RFC)

Management
1. Benjamin Ayimba - Head Coach
2. Felix Ochieng - Assistant Coach
3. George Odhiambo - Team Physio
4. Oscar Osir - Team Manager

In addition the team will also compete in the 2010 CommonwealthGames in India giving it a chance of scooping a gold medal for the country. Meanwhile start saving for Rio in 2016.

Lets meet in Naks.

Weekly Ramble

Looking in from Outside!

Very many factors influence your vision. The presence of blinds or curtains. The tint on the windows. The angle of the sunlight. Placement of furniture in the room. And placement of the what you actually want to see in the room. So you ask, what am I trying to see?

Purely as an outsider, who's only interest is in the game, the welfare of the players, the welfare of the clubs, and Rugby in Kenya in general, I am trying to discern our development agenda for the game in Kenya. Other than the fact that we are purely focused on sevens and believe it will be our call to fame, we do not seem to be doing anything much. We do not have a sustained plan to improve the overall being of rugby in the country and seem merely content to boot lick and ego stroke. Maybe I am being too harsh here.

The International Rugby Board as usual also has a role to play in all this. By insisting that most of our development funding is directed to youth and women's rugby, this does not do good for rugby in general. For countries with well developed rugby structures and that are predominantly biased towards male adult rugby players, it would make sense to focus on these areas, to diversify the game and to ensure that there is proper structure at the grassroot level to sustain safe, organised and effective play at the top. But that only works if you have a top! For a country with a top league of only 8 teams, a second division of roughly double, composed of mainly second teams of the top eight teams, that does not talk of much structure. And if sevens be the route to fifteens, the large number of teams ready and willing to play in the sevens circuit is amazing... but that is only five weeks out of the year. What do these teams do during the rest of the year? And with the current push to increase the playing of rugby in primary schools as well, we are looking at a huge attrition rate. Simple math in any language will tell you this does not add up. And with our KRFU keen on spending money to develop facilities to host a world class event, instead of investing in the very clubs that make up the union, the numbers keep dancing. And that remains a pipe dream. Speaking of facilities, anyone who went for the Harambee Stars vs. Super Eagles clash would have been pleased by what they got for their Ksh. 600. A SEAT, in comfort, a good view of the entire pitch, a toilet not more that two minutes walk away and an experience to remember. Contrast that with your Ksh. 900.00 for Safari Sevens? But I digress as usual.

Looking in from outside, is it only me who finds it strange that the entire development department is manned by a team of more or less incompetents? That the head of the department is more keen on furthering the fortunes of one club is to me a clear conflict of interest. Equipment donated by the IRB (the real one that is) for use by the union has on several occasions been taken up by this club not to mention the machinations and under hand dealings that take place at board and union secretariat level to "favour" this club. The most recent case would be interesting as it involved tampering with "independently" produced material to ensure a member of the club got a favorable ruling at a disciplinary hearing! Would such leeway be allowed to another club, or they get the opportunity?

But I digress again. Having watched some of the mini-rugby and other sessions, it is sad that that is what we are doing. Churning out numbers of no quality. Please note, the head of the department has never ever coached any rugby team of note in the country, and the entire department consists of the same! And what that shows me is that we are just churning out numbers, of low quality, and high quantity. If you do not know what ails rugby at the senior level, then what are you imparting in these players? And as a parting shot, what do all the former coaches of the national teams do, since we are so good at dumping them? Is there no way we can use them in some "grand national development plan"?

Quins Christie Champions

Hosts Kenya Harlequins turned the tables on last weekend's winners Nakuru to take the second round of the Western Union National Sevens Circuit. A lackluster performance on Day 1 that saw Quins lose to JKUAT may have brought in some complacency on Nakuru but a convincing second day performance by Quins and a steady game saw them clinch this 31-17.

Next weekend we're in Nakuru for the Prinsloo Sevens.

Christie 7's Day 1 Summary

Courtesy of KRFU Media and Communications

Pool A
Nakuru, Kisumu qualify for Christie Sevens quarters
Tournament top seeds Nakuru RFC aiming to add the Christie Sevens title to their Dala Sevens crown began the day with a narrow 19-14 win over Mombasa Polytechnic in Pool A. The Mombasa side held their own against Nakuru, falling short of claiming a famous scalp in Nakuru RFC.

The other Pool A match saw Kisumu RFC stroll to a 24-0 win over Catholic University.
Nakuru would then beat the fighting Catholic University 24-5 before finishing top of the pool with a 17-0 win over Kisumu RFC who had done enough to qualify for the main cup quarter final courtesy of that come from behind 15-12 win over Mombasa.

Pool B
Quins, Masinde Muliro top pool
Hosts Kenya Harlequin FC survived a shock 5-7 loss at the hands of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology to qualify top of Pool B. They had earlier labored to beat USIU 19-7 before turning on the style to beat Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology 29-5, a win that secured their berth in the main cup knock out.

The MMUST lads had earlier beaten JKUAT 17-7 before beating USIU 28-7, wins that actually secured their berth in the main cup quarters.

Pool C
Machine join Impala in quarters
Impala RFC topped Pool C, going unbeaten in their three pool matches, beating Mean Machine 31-5, Daystar 48-0 and surviving a Nondies scare in their 29-17 win.

Machine atoned for their dismal showing in Kisumu by making it to the main cup quarters. They made up for their loss to Impala by beating Nondies 34-5 and Daystar 35-0.


Pool D
KCB and Strath sail through
KCB topped this pool with a 100% record. They beat the Flames 42-0,Blak Blad 19-5 and Strathmore 14-10.

Strathmore beat Blak Blad 31-0 before disposing of the Flames 43-5,wins that brought them their quarter final berth.

Collated Day One Results

Nakuru 19 Mombasa 14
Kisumu 24 Catholic University 0
Quins 19 USIU 7
MMUST 17 JKUAT 7
Impala 31 Mean Machine 5
Nondies 31 Daystar 7
Strath 31 Blak Blad 0
KCB 42 Flames 0
Nakuru 24 Catholic 5
Kisumu 15 Mombasa 12
Quins 5 JKUAT 7
MMUST 28 USIU 7
Impala 48 Daystar 0
Nondies 5 Machine 34
Strath 45 Flames 5
KCB 19 Blak Blad 5
Mombasa 43 Catholic 5
USIU 0 JKUAT 7
Machine 35 Daystar 0
Blak 7 Flames 17
Nakuru 17 Kisumu 0
Quins 29 MMUST 5
Impala 29 Nondies 17
Strath 10 KCB 14

Sunday's Order of Play

Bowl Quarters

Mombasa V USIU
Flames V Daystar
Nondies V Blad
JKUAT V Catholic


Main Cup Quarters

Nakuru v MMUST
KCB v Machine
Impala v Strath
Quins v Kisumu

Christie 7's Day 1

In a day of near and actual upsets, the following teams have made it to the main cup quarter finals.

Nakuru meet Masinde Muliro University, KCB meet Mean Machine, Impala meet Strathmore and Quins meet Kisumu. Matches start early tomorrow so try to be on time. Those not at the grounds can follow our Tweeter?? on Twitter or the updates on the left column.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Christies 7's Order of Play

Day 1 Matches will be played as below.

Match No		Time
1	10:00		NAKURU	vs	MOMBASA POLY
2	10:18		KISUMU	vs	CATHOLIC
3	10:36		QUINS	vs	USIU
4	10:54		MASINDE MULIRO	vs	JKUAT
5	11:12		IMPALA	vs	MACHINE
6	11:30		NONDIES	vs	DAYSTAR
7	11:48		STRATHMORE	vs	BLAKBLAD
8	12:06		KCB	vs	FLAMES
9	12:24		NAKURU	vs	CATHOLIC
10	12:42		KISUMU	vs	MOMBASA POLY
11	13:00		QUINS	vs	JKUAT
12	13:18		MASINDE MULIRO	vs	USIU
13	13:36		IMPALA	vs	DAYSTAR
14	13:54		NONDIES	vs	MACHINE
15	14:12		STRATHMORE	vs	FLAMES
16	14:30		KCB	vs	BLAKBLAD
17	14:48		MOMBASA POLY	vs	CATHOLIC
18	15:06		USIU	vs	JKUAT
19	15:24		MACHINE	vs	DAYSTAR
20	15:42		BLAKBLAD	vs	FLAMES
21	16:00		NAKURU	vs	KISUMU
22	16:18		QUINS	vs	MASINDE MULIRO
23	16:36		IMPALA	vs	NONDIES
24	16:54		STRATHMORE	vs	KCB

Weekly Ramble

With the Sevens season now in full swing, now would be the time to recollect our thoughts, and with next season barely two months away from starting, think about where we were, where we are, and where we can be. Unfortunately it is not so. You see, we have become solely mindful of rugby sevens and leave the regular rugby as an aside. Yes, we are more visible in sevens and yes, people are ready to sponsor the sevens because of this. But just what is our plan to make all of rugby visible? Difficult to see or to say isn't it.

With the IRB World Sevens Series set to commence in just under three weeks, that is all we are preoccupied . Will Kenya finally win a leg of the series? Will we maintain our giant killing ways? Will our players be able to replicate the steady build up they did last year, leading to a first ever finals appearance and making it to the semis of the World Cup Sevens? And that is all we think about. And that to me is a failing. Where is our balanced thought process? Remember, Fiji were also thought of as a purely sevens nation, but they did get to the quarter final of the Rugby World Cup proper, nearly upsetting eventual champions South Africa. And to me also, caution is required as remember, just the season before last, Argentina were pulling off similar feats to ours, giant slaying, getting to finals of events, and even winning one or two of them. And where has Argentina ended up? At one point the third ranked team in the world!

As a prelude to a post I'm working on, to me a first step would be to land more and more of our players professional contracts abroad. Last weekend in Kisumu would have showed anyone who cared to see the tremendous amount of talent that abounds in this country. The heroes of yesterday should be allowed to move on upwards and create space for the upcoming heroes. And since we are clueless about developing our fifteen a side game, let others develop them for us. All our glory seeking, self back patting people think about is here and now. And not about tomorrow and there. And I firmly believe that with a concerted effort and adequate union support, this is something we can do quite easily. But again maybe our players are afraid of the big move, and want to remain as what they are... 7's stars! And even worse, our Union believes the press and think that is all we ever will be... 7's stars!