By BS MULAVI
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| Fiji’s Waisea Nacuquin in action during the Glasgow Sevens pool match against Kenya, part of the IRB Sevens World Series, at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland. [PHOTO:AFP] |
The national rugby team jumped up two spots to seventh position in the International Rugby Board (IRB) World Series after collecting twelve points at the Glasgow Sevens in Scotland.
Kenya lost to England 26-5 in the Plate finals but they will be happy that they slightly improved from their previous performances.
This is the highest number of points that South African Paul Treu has attained since taking over as the head coach and he will be hoping extend this form to the next round in London this weekend.
By virtue of having finished as the losing Plate finalists, Kenya has been pooled in another tough group comprising Canada, USA and Samoa in their title hunt in London.
Canada had a much improved performance in Scotland where they beat Kenya in the quarterfinals and went on to the Main Cup finals where they lost to New Zealand.
improve ranking
This performance has seen Canada jump to sixth position in the overall standings with 82 points, which is 10 more than what Kenya has on 72.
The clash between the two sides is likely to have a direct impact on who will top the group in London and qualify for the Main Cup quarterfinals.
Samoa on the other hand have had an inconsistent season so far. However, they are still ranked one place below Kenya with 69 points. Samoa will give Kenya a tough time in the tournament and Treu and his troops will have to be at their best to beat them.
Kenya’s only perceived simple match will be against USA, who are having a torrid season and are currently ranked 13th in the standings with 38 points.
erratic form
However this does not mean they will be an easy team to beat, as they have shown their sparks at different tournaments, and they can easily prove to be resurgent in the final tournament of the season.
Treu’s target for the season was to gain the consistency in team performances and to improve on display of the game.
Last season, under Englishman Mike Friday, the team finished the World Series with 99 points and in fourth place. This means even if Kenya win the London leg and get all the 22 points on offer, they will still come short of the benchmark achieved last season.
Meanwhile New Zealand beat Canada 54-7 in the final of the Glasgow Sevens to win their fourth Cup title of the 2013/14 HSBC Sevens World Series.
Scott Curry and Ben Lam scored two tries each as Gordon Tietjens’ side were ruthless in victory against a Canada side playing in their first-ever Cup final.
The win leaves New Zealand 19 points ahead of second-place South Africa in the Series standings, and on course to win a 12th title in 15 years. Their coach will be hoping that they can extend this form to the next round in London.
— brian.sagala@gmail.com
