KCB keen to end series drought at Driftwood

Andrew Amonde of KCB and James Shabaya of Vihiga Rfc in action during Dala 7s rugby tournament at Mamboleo showground on August 10, 2019 [Courtesy]

It is a three-horse race as the national sevens circuit concludes with the Driftwood tournament in Mombasa this weekend.

Having collected 94 points in five rounds, two-time circuit winners KCB top the standings and they head to the Driftwood Sevens knowing the circuit is theirs to lose. The other title-chasing pair of Mwamba and Nakuru RFC occupy second and third position with 84 and 83 points respectively.

So far, the five tournaments have been shared between KCB and Mwamba with the bankers clinching three (Kakamega, Dala and Christie) while Mwamba were victorious at Kabeberi and Prinsloo Sevens.

A fifth-place finish (13 points) in Mombasa will be enough to hand KCB the overall national sevens circuit title for the first time since 2014 but coach Denis Mwanja wants his charges to go all the way. 

“We are looking past that and we want to make history. We have no reason not to win the last tournament with the experience we have in the team,” Mwanja said following their Christie Sevens triumph in Nairobi last weekend.

Mwanja, alongside current team manager Philip Wamae, were part of the KCB playing unit that clinched their maiden national sevens circuit in 2013.

At the Driftwood tournament, Mwanja’s charges have been seeded top in Pool A and they are set to face Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST), Kenya Harlequin and Administration Police. They begin their quest against the law enforcers before facing Quins and MMUST.

All is not lost for third-placed Nakuru as they have a slim chance of claiming the overall title only if the top two sides, KCB and Mwamba falter.

The only way the Nakuru-based club will be crowned champions is if they clinch the Driftwood title while KCB and Mwamba fail to go past the fifth-place semifinals.

“The positive thing is the boys are in good health without injuries and we just need to focus on what we need to do in order to win again,” Nakuru coach Mitch Ocholla said after seeing his charges fall to KCB in sudden death at the Christie Sevens final.

Nakuru, whose only circuit win came in 2015, travel to Mombasa as the Driftwood Sevens defending champions.