Muthee puts senior rugby 7s players on notice

By Rebecca Gichana

Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) will in the next few weeks unveil a new Kenya Sevens rugby technical bench, which will be headed by a foreign coach.

Speaking on Wednesday at a briefing moments after receiving sponsorship worth Sh2 million for Toyota Kenya Rugby Academy from the giant Japanese car manufacturer, Mwangi Muthee, the KRU chairman, said it was time for change in the team technical bench.

The rugby union boss noted that they have not filled the position of head coach yet, but are scrutinising ten foreign candidates with a view to recruiting an experienced coach to head the Kenyan team.

“Nobody has been fired. We are restructuring the technical bench because we want good results. We must beef up the technical bench with experience to help us perform.

“We have received applications from rugby powerhouses such as England, Wales and the like,” said Muthee in Nairobi.

He added, “In the past, we have used a big squad and paid salaries to some players who miss some World Series tournaments. We have no vendetta against anybody.”

At the same time, KRU has put on notice core players in Kenya Sevens rugby team to perform of risk being dropped. Muthee said that all players must commit to the team and always be available for selection whenever approached for national duty.

He said the restructuring was being done in good faith as KRU targets to have a sustainable squad in readiness for future competitions.

Dismal performances

The restructuring has been necessitated by the poor results posted by Kenya Sevens team in the just concluded International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens World Series tournaments where Kenya finished in position 12 with only 40 points. In 2011, Kenya wound up ninth in the rankings.