The BRSS Match Day 2 and London 7's Review.

The mboys finished the 2011/2012 HSBC sevens circuit the same way they had started it, with pretty disappointing results to say the least. We lost all our fixtures in the two days, bowing out in the Shield semi final to eventual winners France, here are the results from the two days:

Day 1
Kenya 12-14 Argentina
Kenya 0-24 New Zealand
Kenya 19-21 Russia

Day 2
Kenya 5-21 Scotland (Bowl Quarter Final)
Kenya 14-17 France (Shield Semi Final)

We started off the tournament in London just like we did in Scotland conceding early on and having to chase the game, we were trailing 14-0  at the Half. A spirited second half display saw us score two tries via Lomu Ambaka at both ends of the half, though we fell just short. The second game was always going to be hard, I did not catch this one but I hear that it was one way traffic. The last and the most painful one for me the Russia game, we did concede the first try but this time we managed to get back into the game almost immediately and went into the break leading 12-7. We'd stretch that lead to 19-7 with 5 minutes to play via Sidney Ashioya, Lavin making the Conversion from a tight angle. Russia would score with 2 minutes to play to make the scores 19-14, surely we were not going to lose this one..but we did with the last play of the game, Russia capitalised on our sloppy defence to score the winning try.
Day 2 was more or less the same thing, Scotland out played us, even though this time we did score the first try in that game, scores were 7-5 to the Scots at half time before they saw off the game in the second half with two quick tries early on. The France match was almost a carbon copy of the Argentina one, we were 14-0 down at the half courtesy of some shocking defence then came back in the second half to run the show  though it was late in the half. The Yellow card to Biko did hurt us, in the end we lost out Narrowly.

A section of the Kenyan crowd that turned up at Twickenham.

It has been a very challenging season for the mboys, we finish 12th on 40 points having only gathered a single point in London. We have a lot of ground to cover and work to do before next season, the lessons learned in this one should be put to practice right now. If I were to point out three areas that need work, first is a game plan..either we never have one or we do but it poteas when we get into the pitch, two is our defence we started off this campaign with a formidable defence line but as we have moved on the defence has been getting weaker and weaker..our lines are being broken way too easily and inexplicably on the first phase ball. A huge chunk of the tries we have conceded have been on the wings, not around the winger but through the space between the Winger and the Centre. Third should be our set pieces, especially line outs and rucks, we are losing too many of our balls at these set pieces. In Tokyo and Japan we had the best turn over rate in the rucks, successfully turning over 24% of our opponents rucks but this came at a price as we usually committed 2 or more players in the ruck 24% of the time that was more than any other team, being the defending team this in most cases put us in a vulnerable situation. Those would be my three areas also our discipline in the set plays, we have conceded a lot of penalties from rucks this season.
That being said, a Big Shout out to the Mboys who donned the Country's colours this season, it has been a tough one and we do know that you give it your all every time you step onto that pitch and for that you are true warriors..next season will be better, we are with you through thick and thin!

I finally managed to get the Chair Man's Cup Day1 and 2 results, here they are..
But first the pools
Pool A 
Homeboyz
KCB
Impala
Kenya Poly.
Pool B
Quins
Strath
Blak Blad
Thika
Pool C
Mwamba
Chipu RFC
Catholic Uni.
Oryx
Pool D
Machine
Nakuru
Nondies
Multimedia Uni.

Day 1 - 5th May
Homeboyz 24-0 Kenya Poly
KCB 7-11 ImpalaQuins 24-0 Thika rfcStrathmore 22-0 BlakbladMwamba 24-0 CatholicChipu 38-7 OryxMachine 24-0 MultimediaNakuru 44-12 Nondies


Day 2 - 12th May
KCB 37-12 Kenya Poly
Impala 21-18 HomeboyzStrathmore 24-0 ThikaBlakblad 7-15 Quins
Chipu 31-5 Catholic uniOryx 3-38 MwambaNakuru 106-0 MultimediaNondies 10-20 Machine

The pool of death has to be pool A, with defending champions Homeboyz their arch rivals KCB and Impala. Pool D and B also look like they are going to be tight affairs. Impala having won both of their matches though narrowly should finish top of the pool of death with the winner in the Homeboyz vs KCB match finishing second. Quins and Strathmore have won both their matches in pool B though one of those victories for each is a walk over against Thika, the lunch bars and the XXVII crew will face off next weekend to determine who tops that pool. In Pool C Mwamba and Chipu Rfc have two wins from two and will meet up next weekend to determine the winner of this pool. Chipu RFC by the way is the Kenya U19 team for those who did not know. In Pool D Machine and Nakuru are also in the same situation, Nakuru though look to be in blistering form first beating Nondies 44-12 then putting 106 past MMU.     

The BRSS played out it's second game week, where the boys were separated from the men, though a few of the boys are still hanging on till the final pool games, hehe. Here are the results from Match Day 2 :

Cheetahs 50-10 Coastal Bulls
Lions 15-8 Sharks
Buffaloes 7-17 Victoria
Rwenzori 17-12 Rhinos

Peter Mutai in action against the Sharks.

The Cheetahs booked a spot in this year's semi final after putting half a century past the Coastal Bulls, the Cheetahs were in cruise control through out the match leading 26-0 at half time. The Cheetahs took the early lead through Lugonzo and went on to score another three via Nyandigisi, Ayodi and Omiyo. Mose successfully converting the latter three, the only clear cut chance that the Bulls had in this half was a Steve Matioli penalty, though the Bulls had shown a lot of heart this far.
The second half was more of the same story the Cheetahs breaking the Bulls' line of defence at will, and were immediately awarded when the ever green Frank Ndong touched down to take the scores to 33-0 after another successful Mose conversion. The Bulls would however get something on the board through second half substitute Marlon Ondiege's successful penalty kick. The Cheetahs would continue pounding at the Bulls, with Asamba grounding the ball to make it 38-3, the Bulls would manage to get a period of ball possesion pinning the Cheetahs inside their 22, maybe cause the cats had put the foot off the accelerator. This period of dominance did not result in any points for the Bulls and the Cheetahs were unfortunate not to score from a counter attack. Vincent Mose would then sprint from his 22, ducking and side stepping several tackles to cap a great display with a try to bring the scores to 43-3 after he missed the conversion. After this Nyandigisi would get his second of the day and the Cheetah's 8th with Mose taking his total point tally in this game to 17 points.The Bulls would not relent and were rewarded for the heart they showed through out the game via a Matioli try and Ondiege's Conversion.

It was basically one way traffic with the man of the match going to Frank Ndong, other notable performances from the Cheetahs were Vincent Mose, Nyandigisi and captain Duncan Ekasi who was substituted in the first half though had managed to put in a great performance in that short period. For the Bulls it has to be Malik Ndemi who worked his socks off through out the game, sometimes it was like he was playing all alone out there.

In Mumias the Buffaloes failed to live up to most people's expectations (including mine) of recording their first win in the BRSS when they hosted Victoria. The Buffaloes lost out 17-7 after trailing 10-0 at the half, this loss mens the Buffaloes will have to wait till next year to make their first appearance in the semis. The victoria managed to get back from that mauling they suffered at the hands of the Rhinos on match Day 1 to record a win here. They now stand a chance of qualifying for the semis with a victory against fellow Ugandan's the Rwenzori.

In Kampala, defending Champions the Rhinos suffered their first defeat in 3 years in the BRSS at the hands of the Rwenzori. The Rhinos had not lost in 16 matches stretching back to the 2008 final when they went down 33-9 to the Lions. The Rwenzori will be pleased with this result as they now have a foot in the semi final and can now put last years disappointments to rest. The Rwenzori were the better side for a huge chunk of that match against what was a lacklustre Rhinos side, not taking away anything from the Rwenzori. The Ugandan's were leading 12-0 with 20 minutes to play before the Rhinos finally turned up for the ball game narrowing that gap to 12-7 through Wakori, Agero converting. Agero would bring the Rhinos to within touching distance from a penalty to make it 12-10 and would go ahead to take the lead 15-12 for the first time in the match, before the Rwenzori scored with the last play to make the scores 17-15 at the final whistle. 

The second match at the Jamuhuri grounds was the crunch tie between the Lions and Sharks, it will be remembered that the Sharks beat the Lions in last year's Match Day 2. The Lions were going into this one out to revenge that loss and kick the Sharks out of the tournament while they were at it. The lions were immediately on the prowl, with Captain Dennis Mwanja grounding the ball off the Lion's first attack. Olando making no mistake from the conversion, 7-0. The Lions would continue making forays into Sharks territory their forwards doing much of the damage, the Sharks were doing well to hold off the Lions paw. They would make it to the Lions' 22 for the first time in the game and winning a penalty which Adimo failed to score from. The Sharks were now finding their footing wasting no time in getting to Lions territory. This pressure finally paid off when they won another penalty inside the Lions' 22, Adimo making no mistake to take the scores to 7-3.The Lions were immediately on the attack with great play at the backs ending with Collins Injera being stopped a few meters off the line. The Lion's would set up camp here looking to make their advantage at the forwards work for them. The Sharks would put together a counter attack which resulted in a penalty for them, Adimo again failing from the boot. Taking the game into the half with the scores at 7-3

The second half was a much more cagey affair, with no side able to score but with the Lions looking the more likely to add to their points. This they did off Fabian Olando's penalty from close to 50 meters out to make the scores 10-3. The Sharks looked to bounce back but the Lions had an answer to almost every question the Sharks had, except one that was asked via the impressive Edwin Salamba. The diminutive winger with a try to bring the scores to 10-8 Adimo managing to hit the upright from the conversion to see the scores remain 10-8. The Sharks were now looking to take the lead but looked to be out of ideas on several occasions in crucial areas especially from the penalties they won. The Lion's who were now looking to kill off the game put together several phases in the forwards before Ombachi broke to score at the corner to make the scores 15-8, after Olando failed to convert.With less than 10 minutes to play, the Sharks threw everything at the Lions but the big cats were doing enough to hold them off. The Sharks would get another chance to narrow the gap when they were awarded a penalty within striking distance but Adimo again hitting the upright. The Sharks looked to threaten after this but could not break the Lions' defence thus the scores remaining 15-8 to the final whistle.

Man of the Match from this one was Dennis Mwanja who led the Lions from the front, other notable performances were from Machanje, Sikuta, Mugendi, Lilako, Chris Asego, Peter Mutai, Brian Omondi, Fabian Olando and Collins Injera. In the end it was the experience in this Lions' side that saw them through, Anthony Ogot dominating in the line outs one reason that the Sharks opted for quick restarts from most of their penalties. The Sharks will be ruing their luck as Adimo missed 11 points from his boot (a conversion and three penalties), the outstanding performers were Salamba, Albert Adimo and Joel Omer. With that Loss the Sharks bow out of this year's tournament with the Lions meeting the Cheetahs next weekend to determine the pool winners.

The Pool A semi finalists are already known, but Pool B has three teams in contention after that Rhinos loss. Here are the Pool standings after Match Day 2:

Pool A
1. Lions - 9
2. Cheetahs - 9
3. Sharks - 2
4. Coastal Bulls - 0

Pool B 
1. Rwenzori - 9
2. Rhinos - 6
3. Victoria - 4
4. Buffaloes - 1

The Lions top Pool A due to their superior goal difference, well not that superior as the gap is 2 points, the Lions on 46 while the Cheetahs are at 44. The Sharks meet the Bulls with both sides looking to end the tournament with a win.

Pool B as I said earlier is still wide open (get your minds off the gutter mh!) with Rwenzori holding the upper hand. The Rhinos meet the Buffaloes in Nakuru knowing that anything short of a victory will see them fail to make it to the semis. The Rwenzori will be meeting the Victoria in the Ugandan derby, if the Rwenzori win then they will definitely win this pool. A Victoria win on the other hand will depend on the Rhinos result, if the defending champions fail to win in Nakuru, then the two Ugandan franchises will make it to the semi finals for the first time.

In schools rugby, the prestigious Prescott cup and it's second tier Damu Pevu will be kicking of within the week.Also the 29th edition of the St. Mary's BlackRock rugby festival will take place this coming weekend on the 19th of May at saints. The pools will be announced tomorrow..All the Best to The Patch Machine! 

Finally to save my neck, I promised to wish these two good friends of mine Becky 'Apple Bottoms' Nguru and Sheilah Birgen a happy birthday, though their Birthdays were at the weekend. That was one hell of a party ladies..now "Mmezeeka tafuteni mabwana.." ooh you already have them so I guess it should be.."Wasichana warembo kama nyinyi, kitu gani kinafanya msiolewe.." hehehe..

And with that fair ladies and gentlemen...

KWISHA...Nimeruka nje!!!

(Eish by the way na si leo nimeandika..big up if you've read the whole thing hehehe....)