Varsities ready for Kings of Rugby tourney
What you need to know:
- The winning team will pocket Sh150,000 with the losing finalist Sh75,000. Kenya Universities’ Sports Association (Kusa) vice chairman, Boniface Salano, said they will in future start the competition at different conferences with the top 12 teams proceeding for the grand Kings of Rugby University Sevens tournament.
- Former Kenya international and tournament official, Maina Muniafu, said there is a lot of talent to be tapped from 17,000 students that join the 68 local universities annually.
The Kings of Rugby University Sevens tournament was launched in Nairobi Monday.
The championship, which will take place on November 29 at the Rugby Football Union of East Africa grounds, will involve 12 teams split into three pools.
In the draw, former national champions Strathmore Leos are top seeds and will take on Catholic Monks, South Eastern University of Kenya and Moi University.
University of Nairobi’s Mean Machine are in Pool B alongside Daystar, Masinde Muliro and United States International University. Kenyatta University’s Blak Blad highlights Pool C that has Meru, Egerton and Mount Kenya.
The teams will be ranked after the Pool matches with the first four proceeding to the main Cup semi-finals. The next four teams will battle it out in the Plate semis with the remaining going for the Bowl.
TOP PRIZE
The winning team will pocket Sh150,000 with the losing finalist Sh75,000. Kenya Universities’ Sports Association (Kusa) vice chairman, Boniface Salano, said they will in future start the competition at different conferences with the top 12 teams proceeding for the grand Kings of Rugby University Sevens tournament.
He said that it’s from the grand championship that they shall name an elite squad of 20 to represent Kenya in international championships that include the University World Cup Sevens.
“This is a new dawn for University rugby. We got a lot of talent at this level but it’s not well catered for by the National Series,” said Salano. “We want to engage more in developing their skills in sevens since before venturing into 15s version.”
Former Kenya international and tournament official, Maina Muniafu, said there is a lot of talent to be tapped from 17,000 students that join the 68 local universities annually.
“The game can be harnessed with the big numbers,” said Muniafu, adding that women’s rugby will also be incorporated later. “Rugby grows when women are involved and that is why countries like New Zealand and Australia are thriving.”
Manambo said their partnership with KUSA is to ensure that the venture grows into an Africa Tour to be hosted in Nairobi. “We shall use our contacts across Africa to invite other countries’ university rugby teams to come and participate in the Kings of Rugby tournament,” said Manambo.
