The tournament enjoyed raving reviews from last year's edition for its fan fare. This year the organizers are looking to build on Last year's gains while adding a bit more quality on the pitch. 16 teams will be battling for the Masaku title.
Defending champions Quins lead the 16 sides divided into four pools of four. The teams include Pirates from Uganda, British Army and the newly formed Kabras.From the initial list of 16, Kobs and Rhinos of Uganda have been replaced by Mean Machine and Blak Blad. The 15's season has just kicked off in UG so it it understandable that the teams would like to focus on that.
The Pools are thus as follows :
Pool A : Quins, Nakuru, Machine, Savanna Stormers.
Pool B : Homeboyz, Kisumu, Nazarene, Kilunda.
Pool C : Mwamba, Impala, Blak Blad, Daystar.
Pool D : Pirates, USIU, British Army, Kabras.
Very exciting pools they have come up with, though they will serve to increase the quality of play with top teams meeting each other early. It runs the risk of seeing some of these sides thrown by the way side and put the Day 2 competition in jeopardy. On the flip side if they do fall, it will be more exciting to see the 'smaller' teams in action on the big stage. A risk worth taking from my side...
Pool A
Pool A will probably be the pool of death, defending champions Quins face Nakuru, Machine and the Savanna Stormers. The defending champs will definitely have their work cut out for them as they get their title defence against the Stormers.
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| The defending Champions |
The Stormers were Semi finalists last year and are no push overs, they have just unveiled a 1.2 Million sponsorship with Savanna Canvas and are high on morale. Quins, the defending local circuit champs, like most of the sides here, will look to use the tournament as a warm up for the upcoming Safaricom sevens circuit.
Nakuru who have enjoyed the best 15's season in their history will be looking to transfer that success to the sevens. They however struggled during last season's sevens circuit, with one cup final at home their best performance over the 5 legs. Machine also struggled last time out and will be looking to improve on their performances this season starting from Masaku.
Pool B
Pool B sees Homeboyz take on Kisumu, Nazarene and hosts Kilunda. The Djs showed a lot of promise during last season's circuit and will be out to keep the good run going. They have however suffered a player exodus, which has seen them lose several faces that were in last season's team. They have however managed to hold on to the most significant face in Oscar Ayodi.
Kisumu came a long way last season, breaking into the Cup competition for the first time in a long while. The Dala hosts, who will be welcoming the sevens world to their backyard next weekend will be out to put in a great show here in preparation for their tournament.
Nazarene have been frequent participants in previous circuits, they played in two of the five legs last season. For the students this will be a great opportunity to keep learning and growing.
Last year the hosts with the services of guest player Collins Injera, they managed to win one match. They have come a long way since, playing in the Chairman's league in the 15's participating in two sevens legs and in every occasion improving. This will be a good litmus test for the team to show them how far they have come.
Pool C
This one pits 2011 circuit champions and last year's Masaku losing finalists Mwamba take on Impala Blak Blad and Daystar.
After losing last year's final to Quins, Mwamba went on to relinquish the circuit title to the same opponents. This will be a great chance to start redeeming themselves for the black shirts. Last season was one to forget as they finished way off the top for the first time in a long while. The traditional kings of sevens rugby will be looking to reclaim that crown, and as I mentioned this would be the right place to start that process.
Impala have been having a tough time these past two seasons, during this period they have fallen off the 'big boys' table. They have put in a lot of work to get back to the good old days, whether this work has started to pay off will be seen starting from Masaku.
Blak Blad completed their first season in the top flight in the closed season. The KU students have always been an explosive package out to upset the big boys. With the experience gained in that season expect them to be even tougher candidates.
Daystar have been another tricky candidate over the years, the students will look to ruffle feathers in this pool.
Pool D
This is probably the most open pool in the tournament, with no clear favourites to proceed into the Cup competition on day 2.
The G4S Pirates are probably best known in Kenya for their poaching activities especially around the Nakuru area. The side has used players from the rift valley in the past for their local fixtures. The Pirates are a new force in Uganda Rugby and has so far managed to shake the dominance of the Heathens and Kobs, albeit just. The Pirates finished 5th in the Uganda sevens circuit that was played in August, they will be using this tournament to expose their players to top sevens sides around the region.
USIU have been mainstays in the second tier of the sevens circuit, where they have enjoyed mixed results. With the upcoming season, they will be looking to finalise their preparations for the same on a high.
The Kenyan fraction of the British army will be representing the Nanyuki base in this year's tournament. If the UK fraction is anything to go by, the fans in Masaku will be treated to a great show of rugby.
The newest addition to the Kenya Rugby scene, the Kabras, will be making their debut at the Masaku sevens. The side is also rumoured to be looking to compete in the Safaricom Sevens circuit after this. The team, with a fair amount of financial muscle has managed to attract top players, whether this will be for this tournament only or through out the circuit and beyond is yet to be known. They will definitely offer a strong challenge not only in this pool but in through the two days.
It will definitely be a great weekend out for the fans and the players as they warm up for the kick off of the sevens season proper.
With that ladies and gents....
KWISHA...Nimeruka Nje!!
Oyaaa Wanyore Oyaaaaa
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