Kenya climb up in world 7s ranking
What you need to know:
- Kenya finished sixth to collect 12 points after they lost to Olympic champions Fiji 33-21 in the fifth place play-off at Cape Town Sevens on Sunday.
- As a result, Kenya Sevens scaled one place to 10th with a total of 17 points in the World Sevens Series standings.
- Kenya had reached the Challenge Trophy semi-finals in the opening leg of the Series in Dubai where they picked five points.
Kenya finished sixth to collect 12 points after they lost to Olympic champions Fiji 33-21 in the fifth place play-off at Cape Town Sevens on Sunday.
As a result, Kenya Sevens scaled one place to 10th with a total of 17 points in the World Sevens Series standings. Kenya had reached the Challenge Trophy semi-finals in the opening leg of the Series in Dubai where they picked five points.
Even though their show in Cape Town was a great improvement, the players still missed out on bonuses of U$ 1,000 (Sh100,000) each from their sponsors SportPesa, since they did not win the fifth place play-off — an equivalent of Plate final.
At the same time, Innocent “Namcos” Simiyu’s charges have been handed a tough pool in the next leg in Wellington scheduled for January 28 to 29, next year.
They are grouped with Cape Town Sevens winners England, Argentina, who lost in Challenge Trophy final in Cape Town and invitational side Papua New Guinea.
England, who finished third in Dubai after beating Wales 38-10, were in a class of their own in Cape Town. They stunned defending champions South Africa 19-17 for the Cape Town Sevens title. Both Kenya and Argentina lost in Challenge Trophy semi-finals in Dubai.
Kenya have a hill to climb against England, whom they failed to beat in their three outings last season. The only impressive result they had last season was a 19-19 draw against England in Cape Town.
Kenya faced Argentina four times last season and only beat the Pumas once, 15-13, at Singapore Sevens Cup semis.
“Namcos” side has a lot to work on especially at the breakdowns, defence and kick-offs. In addition, players’ welfare should be a priority in a bid to avert a situation like the one that happened prior to their departure to Dubai when they went on strike over unpaid allowances just a week to the competition.
A match analyst and a full time strength and conditioning coach are also essential for the team.
Meanwhile, there were no major shifts in Kenya Cup last weekend as Kenya Harlequin stretched their league lead to 29 points after beating hosts Blak Blad 37-20 at Kenyatta University. Kenya Commercial Bank stayed second with 27 points.
