Hosts shine as Harlequin upset England Royals in Sevens tourney

 

Davis Chenge of Morans tackled by Western Bulls player at the Safaricom Safari Sevens match at Moi International Sport Centre, Kasarani PHOTO: MARTIN MUKANGU / STANDARD

By RODGERS ESHITEMI

Kenya Sevens National team, Shujaa and South Africa’s Western Province proved too good for their counterparts in Pool E of the on-going Safaricom Sevens tournament at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, on Sturday.

Shujaa thumped Mwamba 29-7 in their opening match before demolishing visiting Rwanda 62-0.

Andrew Amonde, Philip Wamae, Lavin Asego and Oscar Ouma were among the try scorers in the second match with Sidney Ashioya and Michael Agevi converting for the Felix Ochieng’-trained side.

Speaking after the massive wins, Ochieng’ praised the boys for a positive start, but urged them to remain focused as he expects stiff competition in the next stages.

 “We are actually doing very well. We are still building up and trying to jell. We have strong clubs in the tournament, so we must remain focused and give our best in all the matches,’’ said Ochieng.

It’s the same scenario for Western Province who were in a class of their own, demolishing Rwanda 31-0 in the opening fixture. The South Africa outfit continued from there with a convincing 44-0 victory over Mwamba.

Although the victories left Western coach Allister Coetzee a happy man, he said their aim is to finish top of the group.

 “The first match was not good for us, but we are getting better and stepping up. The competition is stiff and I am worried of teams like Shujaa, but that will not stop us from topping the group,” said Cootzee.

Kenya Harlequins have already booked their place in the quarters after winning all their three group D matches.

Quins narrowly beat England defeat Royals 12-10 before conquering last year’s Main cup finalists Grenoble 12-7, who had thrashed Homeboyz 19-0. The Masaku sevens champions wrapped up the day with a 21-0 victory over Homeboys RFC.

Quins coach Charles Cardovillis said they have proved critics wrong and credited the wins to his players’ spirited fight.

“Not many people expected us to beat our first two opponents, but I am glad the boys played as per instructions and now we have qualified for the quarters. The games are a little bit tough, but I am proud for the team’s performance and we are taking each game at a time. We are ready for any opponent in the quarters,’’ said Cardovillis.

“We are not too preoccupied by who it will be because we are well prepared to beat any team we meet in the next stage,” he added.

Quins opted to use some of their experienced players, bringing in the likes of Wilson Kopondo and Brian Nyikuli who were instrumental in the victories.

 Meanwhile, Kenya Morans registered the biggest win in the Group A matches after trouncing a depleted Botswana 50-0 as Zambia suffered a 20-0 defeat to Western Bulls.