Sevens coach Mike Friday resigns, lauds team

By John Lawrence

Kenya: Mike Friday has resigned as head coach of the Kenya National Rugby Sevens team after major dissatisfaction with some directors of Kenya Rugby Union (KRU).

The directors have been involved in public spats with Mr Friday in the recent past.

Friday also claimed that insufficient funding to the team occasioned his resignation.

In a statement sent to newsrooms from KRU, the Englishman wrote to the KRU chairman, Mwangi Muthee, saying that “with heart,” he and Chris Brown, the New Zealander strength and body conditioning coach of the Kenya team, “assure you that we have not taken this decision lightly.

“They (Sevens team) are a fantastic group of players and it has been a privilege for both Chris and me to have worked with them all. They are precious assets that need to be given support and direction by Kenyan Rugby in order to maximise their potential.”

Mr Muthee described Friday as a thoroughly professional man and who based his decisions on sound argument.

“In order for the team to achieve all its goals, his programme required a total budget of Sh80 million annually and indeed that would have been worth every cent. Unfortunately, our total cash sponsorship for the Sevens’ team was Sh40 million annually.

A close source within KRU told The Standard that Paul Treu is the likely coach to replace Friday. Mr Treu is a  South African head coach.