The Punter
24 June 2008
Nairobi — A new benchmark has been set for future Tusker Safari Sevens rugby tournaments in Nairobi.
Kenya's national team crowned a good season in seven-a-side rugby by reclaiming the title at the 13th edition of the tournament on Sunday at the Rugby Football Union of East Africa ground before one of the biggest crowd ever seen at the ground.
The win came after three-year hiatus and after a rewarding season in the 2007/2008 International Rugby Board Sevens season where the Virgin Atlantic-sponsored Kenya finished seventh. The highlights of the tournament were Fiji Barbarians' debut and upsets which were the order of an action-packed weekend. They were twice tamed by Bristol University Select, the eventual Plate winners.
Destroyer in principal
Bristol University Select, who are as old as the tournament, beat the Digicel-sponsored Fiji Barbarians 14-5 in Pool C and 12-10 in the plate final. Howard Graham, who has captained the British Army side, was the destroyer in principal. It was not a good debut for Fiji who also fell to Kenya 5-10 in the Main Cup's quarter-final. If everything went according to plan, Kenya would not have met the Pacific Islanders at the quarter-final stage.
Bristol University Select ,under Bob Reeves, came with their goody bag full of kit to be donated to deserving cases. The opening day also saw Samurai come from 0-12 down to beat three-time champions Emerging Boks 19-17 in the first match of the day to set the tone for the tournament. The weekend, however, belonged to Kenya who dropped only 12 points on the opening day made it from a group which had a very strong French side. It was pay back time as Kenya defeated France 26-12 in the last match of the day. France had to come from 0-12 down to tie the game 12-12 before Kenya stepped up the pace.
"It shows what the players are capable of when given a good rest after the completion of the IRB Sevens World Series," a fan observed. After topping Pool C, coach Benjamin Ayimba was not perturbed that they would be meeting Rugby World Cup Sevens champions Digicel Fiji Barbarians in the quarter-finals. "We did not spend any sleepless nights because we knew this was a beatable side. No excuse that they were a development side because we also have our bad days," he explained. An early morning church service at the nearby Nairobi Pentecostal Church, Valley Road (the teams were accommodated at the nearby Sarova Panafric Hotel) Kenya was confident. When the team came back from Scotland three weeks ago, Ayimba said Tusker Safari Sevens was not a priority. He was keen on getting the right combination for the Africa Zone of the Rugby World Cup qualifiers. In the final, four brothers plotted the downfall of Emerging Springboks. Collins Injera and his elder brother Humphrey Kayange scored one try each while Victor Sudi added one for the Simiyus. Innocent Simiyu, who was doubtful at the start of the tournament, crossed the line twice and superb kicking by Lavin Asego left the Emerging Boks wondering if there was ever a weak link in the Kenya defence.
Ironically, Dennis Mwanja, who was injured in England, had predicted it was Kenya's turn to win after a three-year drought Participating teams observed the tournament was growing in stature. Tunisian coach, Danie De Villiers, a South African and former coach of Boland said the venue was as good as those in the Western Cape. "It is a great atmosphere and the quality is good," he said.
Liam Middleton, the Zimbabwe coach was equally impressed. "It was one of our best tournaments in a strong field. Kenya has set the bench mark and the tournament continues to get tougher," he said.
African teams had chance to assess what they had in stock before the Tunisia qualifiers in October.
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