By BS Mulavi

Plans to have a women’s rugby tournament in the first leg of the national sevens circuit have not borne fruit in the Dala event in Kisumu.

Kisumu Rugby Football Club will host the first leg of the national sevens circuit on November 14 in Kisumu after a three-year absence.

Kisumu had experienced logistical problems and the Kenya Rugby Football Union (KRFU) promptly chopped them off the fixtures.

Kisumu have since put their house in order and KRFU rewarded them with a leg in the sevens circuit that will now have five legs.

Kisumu had planned to have a women’s parallel tournament to up the ante, but the hosts are unable to raise a team. "Regarding the women’s competition, not much success will come from that angle," said Kisumu secretary, Paul Okong’o.

"The revived Kisumu side known as the Tilapias has seen only six women report for training. A minimum of 12 players are needed for the sevens team," he added.

With the rapid growth of sevens rugby, pressure has also been on the union to try and promote the female version of the sport. The opening leg of the International Rugby Board sevens circuit in Dubai has taken a step forward by including a parallel women’s tournament.

There have been calls for the union to drum up support for a women’s team. Kenya has only a 15s women’s national team and is yet to make any significant progress in the shorter version.

Preparations for Dala Sevens are on track with the pitch watered on a regular basis. "We hope to have all the top stars in the tournament, but are not sure if the national team players will be allowed to feature," said Okong’o.

National team players are expected to be resting ahead of the opening leg of the IRB circuit on December 5.

"Nevertheless we are working on a 24-team format with all of the Kenya Cup regular having confirmed participation."