Five-horse race as teams eye Christie crown
What you need to know:
- Taabu and Sikuta are part of three changes in the Black Shirts that sees Idriss Shariff getting his first sevens action, replacing Ronnie Omondi, who is out with an ankle injury.
- The team will be captained by former World Sevens Series top try scorer Collins Injera.
Five teams are still in strong contention for Stanbic Bank National Sevens Series title as the championship reaches the penultimate stage with Christie Sevens this weekend at the Rugby Football Union of East Africa grounds.
Leaders Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and Mwamba, who are separated by three points at the top of the series standings, only need to reach the final at RFUEA this weekend to make the final leg, Driftwood in Mombasa next weekend, a two-horse race.
The chasing pack that has Series defending champions Homeboyz, Nakuru and Menengai Oilers, will need to reach the final at Christie to have a chance of winning the Series; that is if KCB and Mwamba fail to go past the quarter-finals.
KCB and Mwamba, who have won two legs each this season, have 72 points and 69 points respectively.
It will be an interesting affair if both teams are to reach the final this weekend with Mwamba carrying the day. It will mean that both teams will tie on 91 points each heading to Mombasa.
KCB takes on Northern Suburbs Cubs then Daystar Falcons before facing Pool “D” top seeds Menengai Oilers while tournament’s top seeds Mwamba, play Egerton and Nondescripts before wrapping up day one’s action against Strathmore Leos in Pool “A”.
Defending Christie Sevens champions Homeboyz face Pirates from Uganda before taking on Kenya Harlequin and Impala Saracens in Pool “B” while Nakuru, who finished third at Prinsloo Sevens, tackle South Africa- based Blue Bulls and TUKS before meeting Masinde Muliro University and Kabras Sugar in Pool “C”.
KCB coach Dennis “Ironman” Mwanja has effected two changes to the squad that failed to go past the quarter-finals at Prinsloo, replacing injured Jacob Ojee and Vincent Onyala with Michael Kimwele and Arthur Owira respectively.
KCB won the inaugural Kakamega Sevens and Dala Sevens. “We were let down by several factors in Nakuru during Prinsloo where we lost in the main Cup quarters otherwise we could have put everything beyond reach with victory,” said Mwanja.
He said they were confident of sealing the Christie crown they last won in 2013. Mwamba coach Louis Kisia has recalled Daniel Taabu and Stephen Sikuta for the weekend’s action.
Taabu and Sikuta are part of three changes in the Black Shirts that sees Idriss Shariff getting his first sevens action, replacing Ronnie Omondi, who is out with an ankle injury.
The team will be captained by former World Sevens Series top try scorer Collins Injera.
