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The Nairobian

Big pay day as 7s squad are feted

Politics

By The Standard Sports | Mar 18, 2009

By Feverpitch Team

Safaricom feted the Kenyan National Sevens Team for their exemplary performance at the fifth Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament in Dubai.

The 12-man national Sevens team received a total of Sh3m, with each player pocketing Sh250,000 after having qualified for the semi-finals at the tournament where they lost to Argentina. Also receiving Sh250,000 was the coach of the team Benjamin Ayimba.

Safaricom had earlier announced a cash pledge to the team ahead of the tournament where each member of the playing squad was to receive Sh500,000 if they got to the finals of the main cup competition and Sh250,000 reward per player for getting to the semis.

Exemplary performance

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Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Michael Joseph said: "Having beaten the top teams before, your exemplary performance was expected. I believe with considerable support, this team can bring the winners' trophies to this country in future tournaments."

National Sevens rugby team players and Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph (front fourth from left) after each receiving Sh250,000 from mobile service provider Safaricom at its headquater, on Tuesday. ]PHOTO: SAIDI HAMISI/STANDARD

The national sevens team qualified to the semis after defeating Fiji in the quarter-finals. In the group stages, Kenya beat Tunisia and Hong Kong, but lost to England in the last game.

Before the tournament in Dubai, the team had lost in the final of the plate competition at the San Diego Sevens.

Beat plate winners

They had beaten the eventual plate winners and the defending world champions, New Zealand for the first time in the history of the IRB World Sevens series.

Kenya is currently ranked sixth after the USA leg of the IRB circuit.

Kenya national rugby sevens team returns to the pitch today to start preparing for the fifth leg of the International Rugby Board Sevens World Series due next week in Hong Kong.

As the team resume training today at Brookhouse School, head coach Benjamin Ayimba is optimistic the team would win the Hong Kong leg.

Ayimba said the team would still go for the six points rule and a quarterfinal berth target, which he was happy has not yet reached a crisis.

Besides the points, another motivation for the team is the circuit money, which the coach vowed would not bypass them.

"We have agreed to rake in points and keep our eyes on the money. We won’t let the USD150,000 slip our hands. We are going to have a stake on it," he said.