Prinsloo 7's: Mwamba exact revenge on Quins by winning in Nakuru

Mwamba collected 30 circuit points by winning the Prinsloo 7's. Mwamba
beat Quins 17-10 in a reverse result of last weeks Christies final.
The two teams seem to be in a class of their own though Impala and
Nakuru pushed both teams respectively to the limit in the main cup
semi-finals.

3rd tournament is next week in Kisumu the Dala 7's.

Kenya 7's Shujaa off to Zambia for Castle 7's

Kenya 7's Shujaa are off to Zambia where they will take part in this
weekends Castle Lager Mosi Sevens. The team includes new players from
Strathmore, Nakuru and Homeboyz. The team was recently in Middlesex
where they reached the quarter finals.

Shujaa:
Gray Cullen - Nondies
Victor Oduor - Quins
Peter Ocholla - Impala
Ken Isindu - KCB
Felix Ayange - Strathmore
Collins Omae - Quins
Peter Kepher - Strathmore
Collins Mulla - Homeboyz
Michael Wanjala - Strathmore
Vincent Mose - Impala
Fabian Olando - KCB
Oscar Ouma - Nakuru

Coach: Felix Ochieng
Team Manager: Newton Ongalo
Physio: Joseph Kolli
Head of Delegation: Fred Ollows

Christie 7's : Quins win Christie Sevens

Quins win Christie Sevens 15-10 over Mwamba

MVP Edgar Ambere (Mwamba)
Top Try Scorer Collins Injera (Mwamba)
Top Points Scorer Kevin (Mwamba)

Next tournament Nakuru Prinsloo Sevens
28 and 29 September.

Kopondo in shock move from Mean Machine to Quins

Mean Machine stalwart comrade Wilson 'Kopo' Kopondo has left Mean
Machine to join Ngong Road side Kenya Harlequins. This rumour which
had been doing the rounds on campus for several weeks was confirmed
when Kopo played for Harlequins in the Christie Sevens. Kopo we will
miss your leadership but Machine will remain ESCHUMA ABSOLUTE.

Western Union launch National Sevens Circuit sponsorship but not much for clubs

Western Union has signed a 3 year sponsorship deal with the KRFU. That
is indeed most welcome as the game of rugby or the Union needs
corporate support to enhance growth of the game. The sponsorship has
been broken down to ksh 4M year 1 then 4.5M year 2 and lastly 5M year
3. That is what Western Union is giving KRFU.

In return KRFU have given all branding rights irrespective of what
agreements are in place between existing clubs and current/prospective
sponsors.

This is what KRFU is then disbursing to the clubs in total:

Kisumu 250000
Nakuru 250000
Mwamba 250000
Harlequins 250000
MSC/Spartans/Shepherds 250000
Prize Money 116000

Total 1366000

Balance 2634000
Commissions 15% (GM) 600000

Total less Commission 2034000

Participating clubs/teams ksh 0 and warm up t-shirts

So my learned friends, what does KRFU use Kshs 2034000 to do? Administration?

Your guess is as good as mine. Western Union and clubs please wake up.

Samurai Winners of Middlesex 7's

Samurai International 7's with Collins Injera, Humphrey Kayange and Felix Ochieng at Twickenham 2010.

Well in lads.

Samurai win Middlesex 7's with Collins Injera in great form ahead of Commonwealth 7's Games

Samurai with Kenyan brothers Collins Injera and Humphrey Kayange won
the 2010 Middlesex 7's beating defending champions 15-12 in a repeat
of last years final. Whereas last week elder brother Kayange stole the
show in Wales, this week it was younger brother Injera who was the
star of the weekend.

Coming from behind Injera had an assist from a wonderful crosskick
before scoring the winning try to seal Samurai's victory in front of a
sizeable crowd at Twickenham. The £30,000 was Samurai's for the taking
at the Charity event.

Earlier Samurai had taught Kenya's conquerors the British Army 29-0 in
the semi-finals with Collins Injera scoring a brace. Injera and
Kayange carried the mantle for Kenya 7's revenge as the British Army
had earlier dumped Kenya 7's out of the tournament.

Middlesex Sevens: Kenya bow out to British Army

Kenya's run in the Middlesex Sevens was brought to an abrupt halt by
the British Army 7's side with a 28-5 defeat.

Earlier on Kenya had started off well beating Leeds Carnegie 19-12
with Gray Cullen (2) and Collins Omae among the try scorers.

Assistant Coach Felix Ochieng was in charge of team in place of Head
Coach Benjamin Ayimba who did not travel contrary to other reports.

The team will be back on Monday and their next assignment as they
prepare for the Commonwealth Games will be the Mosi 7's.

It is not clear whether the players called up to the national sevens
side will feature in the local sevens circuit.

Meanwhile Kenya 15's have officially pulled out of the CAR competition
that was to involve Namibia, Zimbabwe and Uganda.

Weekly Ramble

Not very inspired today, but events happening across the border have got me thinking. Regarding the outstanding performances by our fifteens team this season, I have rambled about this before. Ever the patriot I am as pleased as everyone about our performances. I was even more pleased by the approach taken by the technical team, throwing all caution to the wind and going for youth and coaching as opposed to experience. And that payed off big time. To me it showed contrary to what people have been saying in the media and all over, we do have depth in our playing resources. And the sevens coach seems to have also read from the same script. Nothing beats the freshness of youth, especially in the sevens game. The daring and the lack of care makes exciting prospects of the game. But I digress.

As we await the dates for the CAR competition, we need to reflect on where our rugby is today, where it is going, and where it can be. I'm sure those who were in Mpumlunga will attest that there is not much difference skill wise in what the Pumas had over us. Key would be the strength, the power and finally the ability to organise play beyond the 3rd phase, both offense and defense. And that we must all work on at our level. At school level, at club level at national level. At personal level, at sub unit level, at team level. And only then will we have moved our rugby to the next phase. One day, when I feel motivated, I will break this down for you (in case you do not know) and I can even Google for you - where you are too lazy and find the information for you.

For me it's a go slow for now. Not really a sevens pundit and the season kicks off next week. Where I can I will update results and where I feel I need to, I will make comments. Wishing all the clubs a successful sevens season. Success is not only measured in winning or losing, but in many other ways as well, which we determine ourselves.

New caps named in Kenya 7's side for Middlesex

A new look Kenya 7's will grace this weekends Middlesex Sevens for
only the second time in their history. The team which will give fringe
players a chance to claim a stake for the Commonwealth Games includes
several new faces that have not previously turned out for Kenya 7's.
These are namely Ken Isindu, Fabian Olando, Collins Omae, Dennis
Ombachi and Gray Cullen. Ayimba for the first time has decided to give
the youngsters in his team a chance unlike his previous stance.

The Mean Machine flag will be carried by Wilson K'Opondo who will be
the captain of the side at Middlesex in the absence of regular
Humphrey Kayange who will be turning out for ULR Samurai with brother
Collins Injera. Interestingly no players from Strathmore who are the
defending Kenya Sevens Club Champions are in the team.

Kenya 7's:
Fabian Olando, Dennis Ombachi, Wilson K'Opondo, Naftali Obondo,
Collins Omae, Ken Isindu, Biko Adema, Leon Adongo, Horace Owiti and
Gray Cullen.

Coach: Ben Ayimba

Uganda fire coach Ham Onsando

Uganda Rugby Union have sensationally fired Cranes coach Kenyan born
Ham Onsando. The Kenyan's four month stint sadly came to an end
yesterday.

With only one win to show in the Victoria Cup against Zimbabwe and two
crushing defeats to bitter rivals Kenya especially a painful home
defeat, Onsando's Uganda tour has come to an end.

The writing was always on the wall for the Kenyan tactician who also
doubled up as Ruwenzori super rugby coach. He failed to garner
victories that would inspire the team and get the crucial backing from
his boss Uganda Rugby chairman William Blick.

Prior to the Victoria Cup Uganda who are the 'reigning' Africa amateur
champions were ahead of Kenya in the IRB rankings but by the end of
the competition they were more than 10 places behind Kenya.

Onsando rugby past has seen him previously as Kenya 7's coach in its
formative years. He led Kenya to their first Safaricom Safari Sevens
title back in 1997 before being relieved of his duties. He then tried
his hand with the Kenya 15's but was not given the head coach job.

At club level he saw success with Kenya Harlequins RFC in 1996, 1997
and 1999 before being shown the door. He then moved upstairs and
become KRFU vice-chairman as interestingly no club wanted to touch him
as coach. Thereafter he moved to Uganda where he coached Entebbe
Mongers before his big job as Cranes Coach.

Osando's options would be to return to Kenya where he could take up
the post of coach at Mean Machine, Strathmore or Nakuru RFC. With his
experience he would even be a good catch for KRFU once Tank Otieno
retires at the end of the year as national coach. Having been formerly
at Harlequins he could form a good technical bench with Edward Kinyany
who is widely expected to succeed Tank Otieno.

Uganda will look to assistant coach Sam Ahamya to become new Cranes
coach with Herbert Wafula the former captain as his assistant. With
finances being difficult the URFU can no longer afford the likes of
successful South African coaches Chester Williams and David Dobela.
Tank Otieno would also be an outside bet.

Cwmtawe 7's: Samurai win 7's as Kayange gets top award

A Kenyan driven Samurai won the Cwmtawe 7's in Wales winning the
£5,000 prize money. The presence of Humphrey Kayange and Collins
Injera added much quality to the winning team. In addition Humphrey
Kayange was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament. The
two brothers continue the sojourn with Samurai at the Middlesex Sevens
next week where they will be joined by another Kenyan Felix Ochieng.
He will be sitting on the Samurai technical bench as one of the
coaches taking an opportunity that will certainly raise his profile in
the sevens world. Ochieng who is commonly refered to as 'Atoti' within
the Kenyan rugby fraternity is thought of as a good choice to
replace/takeover the Kenya 7's coach job from Benjamin Ayimba who is
now commitedly running the Benjamin Ayimba Rugby School (BARS).

Go Kayange go. Go Injera go. Go Atoti go. You make Kenyans proud always.

Cwmtawe 7's : Kayange and Injera in Samurai team

Brothers Humphrey Kayange and Collins Injera have been named in a
Samurai team that will play in today's Cwmtawe 7's in Wales. The two
who flew out in midweek are part of a star studded line up that will
feature in this event.

Other teams taking part are White Hart Marauders (7 time winners since
tournament inception in 1983) , Young Ospreys, Covenant Brothers
(Fijians), Pacific Warriors (Fijians), Welsh Wizards, Kamikaze 7's,
Carmarthen Warriors, Leeds Carnegie, Leicester Medics, Coleg Sir Bar
OBs, Kidwelly Giants, Old Breconians, Glantaf Goats, Llanelli and
Swansea.
Notable absentees in this years event are the British Army. Samurai
will have a second team International VII playing in the tournament as
well.

The 24 team tournament makes a welcome return after being cancelled
last year due to bad weather. Prize money is £5,000 for the winners
and £1,500 for the runners up. The plate competition will be worth
£1,000. The local teams mainly junior sides will battle for £500 in
the ten team shield category. Prize money in place for this charity
tournament makes it very attractive something the Safaricom Safari
Sevens could do with from next year if they are to attract top quality
professional sides from around the world.

Brothers Humphrey Kayange and Collins Injera will also feature for
Samurai at the Middlesex 7's next week at Twickenham. They will not
be playing for Kenya then. Money talks. Good luck guys and do Kenya
proud.

Go Kayange go. Go Injera Go. Go Samurai go.

Weekly Ramble

Today heralds the dawn of a new way in which things are done in Kenya. As you and I, the normal mwananchi with no reason or hope of being a politician and wielding the power that we periodically kill each other for, what hope does it then hold for us? Is it possible that the new constitution will affect each and every one of our lives? And if so in what way? Will we get improved democratic space? Will we have more say in the way things are run? Will the culture of impunity end in this country? And just how far does that go?

We in rugby hope that the mini-fiefdoms of impunity we have witnessed over the past years will also disappear. Where decisions are made in bedrooms mini boardrooms that affect the destiny of a whole nation is to be no more and accountability and transparency to increase. Hiding of IRB development money or simply using it to pay salaries without any real development taking place is to be no more as churning out numbers does not mean a successful program. Thought has to go into the quality of the whole program as opposed to bragging about the numbers involved in the program.

As the new constitution begs to have parliament vet all presidential appointees, we hope the same translates to the grassroots with open tendering for work at KRU, expressions of interest invited for work and candidates interviewed and vetted for positions. This years RSS saw a rebuilding of some networks I thought were long broken, but it seems with no accountability for actions, that was bound to happen. Vetting and approval for volunteers in events has to be open and not left to the whims of the IRB powers that be.

And please, rugby community, speak out publicly as you now have new space. And that is our hope for the future of rugby.

The Myth That Was Chipu!!

Was it really there,

did it exist? Was it real,

or a figment of our imagination?

From a tournament mascot,

to our favorite team,

the name transited

and we felt it was home.

Though it never really landed,

and stayed kind of aloft.

It has finally,

come home to roost.

Not really my best,

But suit it must.

For though we are shy

Some things must be said.

So do we really have a plan? Is there really a path to the National Team? Can this last trip be called a debacle, a setback, or the reality? Do the powers that be know what they are doing? Can the senior men's side be performing so well and the junior side the opposite? Is the senior technical team involved in any way with the junior side? Or is what is happening at the senior level really no reflection of technical input? Did the re-structuring of the season alone ensure that our players were at their peak for the National team? Or was the skewed selection towards one club a means of ensuring little coaching at the top was required?

Without saying anything, I think it is clear that we have more questions than answers.. but again, who is looking for the answers? And just who.. or what was Chipu??

Clubs back off on SGM as Omwela shows hand

The SGM called by KRFU affiliated clubs scheduled for last week 28th
July never saw the light of day. Clever manouvering by KRFU Chairman
Richard Omwela saw the clubs back off.

Omwela called club officials to a breakfast meeting without any other
executive committee members where five things were discussed.
1. Kabeberi and Christie sevens be reinstated back into the sevens
circuit. This immediately eased pressure from Mwamba and Harlequins.
2. The decision to lock out Mwamba and Harlequins was a Frank Sabwa
decision without board approval.
3. A sub-committee of 4 club chairmen led by Harlequins Nyamodi to
review the constitution to ensure in future the positions of Vice
Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer are not eelected posts but filled by
elected Club Chairmen. It was noted currently Frank Sabwa and Fred
Odhiambo do not belong to any club therefore have no real interest in
the game at heart. The committee has 6 weeks to submit a report at a
specially convened board meeting.
4. Omwela asked clubs to support him regain control of the KRFU
affairs as currently a quortet of Frank Sabwa, Fred Odhiambo, Fred
Ollows and Wilfred Ombisi are running rugby without consulting him. In
the process his ally the KRFU GM Auka Gecheo has also been sidelined.
5. Nondies will not be relegated as they are the oldest club in Kenya.
Homeboyz, Kisumu and Mombasa will be brought into the Kenya Cup in the
2011/2012 season.

Omwela and the club officials then called off the SGM.