Homeboyz Claim First Sevens Title In Style

The Silver edition of the George Mwangi Kabeberi sevens will go down as one of the most memorable in recent times for various reasons. It was the first time in 10 years that the tourney was being held at Mwamba's home the Railways club, and on Sunday evening the tourney crowned a first time champion in sevens history.

The 2013 George Mwangi Kabeberi 7s Champions.

Before the tournament, concerns had been raised about the capacity of the Railways club to host such a tourney, considering that the grounds had not hosted a rugby match for almost two years.

Day 1 

Dala champions Strathmore led the sides into the cup quarter finals after solid wins against Daystar 41-0, Kisumu 38-7 and Nondies 26-7 in Pool A. Hosts Mwamba also booked their berth in the cup competition alongside Homeboyz in Pool B with a game to spare. 

Pool C was thrown wide open when KCB drew with Nakuru 5 all in the opening game, Western Bulls narrowly getting past Eldoret 7-5. The Bulls would go ahead be the first to qualify for the cup from this pool with a 17-12 win over Nakuru. That result also saw Nakuru dumped to the Bowl, KCB ensured passage with a commanding 42-0 demolition of Eldoret.

Pool D had Quins and Impala book the last cup slots with wins over Machine and Blak blad. The closing round of the pool stages saw mouth watering encounters that would determine who would top the respective pools. Pool A had been sealed with Strathmore and Nondies having already progressed.

You don't want to know how this ended. (Photo - Shutterdiplomacy.com)

The first of these 3 matches saw Homeboyz stretch the hosts to the last thread before narrowly losing 7-10. Most were in agreement that the hosts were lucky to sneak away with the win at the death. That win came at a cost as flyer Collins Injera limped off with a pulled hamstring and would sit out the rest of the tourney.

The second match between Western Bulls and KCB was a much more straight forward affair with the bankers sealing first spot in Pool C after a 22-5 win.

Quins would shake off an early scare from Impala who led 12-7 at the break to win 12-26 and claim first spot in Pool D. 

Nakuru would battle it out with Daystar, Egerton, Machine, Eldoret, Blak blad, Stormers and Kisumu for the Bowl title.

From Day 1 action Strathmore, Mwamba, KCB and Quins had been the names on many to go on and lift the cup. Homeboyz and Impala had been given an outside chance especially after their performance against Mwamba and Quins respectively.

Quarter Final Pairings

Bowl Quarter Finals :

Daystar vs Egerton

Machine vs Eldoret

Nakuru vs Blak blad

Stormers vs Kisumu

Cup Quarter Finals :

Strathmore vs Homeboyz

Quins vs Western Bulls

KCB vs Impala

Mwamba vs Nondies

Division 2 saw firm favourites Kabras go through the day without conceding a single point to play in the division's cup competition. They were joined by KCA, MMU, Catholic University, TUK, Moi University, Masaku and Bungoma. 

Mt. Kenya, AP Embakasi, Comras, Dandora, Thika, Kakamega, Mlolongo and Makueni would battle it out for the division's bowl title.,

Day 2 

Few had expected what was in store in the Cup quarter finals in Division 1 as Strathmore were bundled out by Homeboyz 17-10. Given the recent history between these two, this result is less of a surprise. The Homeboyz defended resolutely against the Leos and taken their opportunities with a great degree of accuracy.

The second quarter final was also headed towards an upset with the Bulls leading 5-0 against Quins into the break. The quartered shirts took the lead from a converted try at 7-5, before sealing their spot in the semi final at 14-5.

The third quarter final saw two sides that had met in Dala at the same stage battle it out, with KCB taking on Impala, the lions having won that one 10-5. A Robert Aringo inspired Impala got their revenge as they sent pre match favourites KCB packing after a 24-12 win. Impala had matched KCB's physicality and successfully bossed the contact area as the lions seemed to run out of ideas.

Aringo in Full flight against KCB

The last quarter final was a contest between Nondies and Mwamba. The white shirts took the early lead at 7-0, before the hosts replied quickly to make the score 10-7 at the break. The black shirts never looked back as they went onto win 17-14 and book the last semi final spot.

In the Bowl, Daystar who had failed to match their performance in Dala beat Egerton 24-12 to book a semi final berth against Eldoret who beat Machine 17-5. The other Semi final would see Nakuru who barely got past Blad 8-7 meet Kisumu who got past the Stormers 17-7.

Semi Final Pairings :

Shield Semi Finals :

Egerton vs Machine 

Blad vs Stormers

Bowl Semi Finals :

Nakuru vs Kisumu 

Eldoret vs Daystar

Plate Semi Finals :

KCB vs Nondies

Strathmore vs Western Bulls

Cup Semi Finals :

Homeboyz vs Quins

Mwamba vs Impala

The first Semi final saw Homeboyz go over first, Mugaisi showing the defence a clean pair of heels as he had done several times before to give his side a 5-0 lead. Quins would level the score after a hard fought phase of play. Homeboyz would go into the break leading 12-5, surprisingly matching Quins in all facets of play.

The second half was more of the same, with the Homeboyz defending their lines and bossing the contact area. The presence of Mr. Uganda Joshua Chisanga and Oscar Ayodi in this area taking the djs the extra mile. In attack Michael Wanjala, Augustine Lughonzo and Mugaisi were impressive. The djs went onto to reach their first final in the circuit with a 19-10 win.

The second semi final saw the hosts come up against a spirited Impala side who like the Homeboyz had defied the odds to make it this far. It was the first semi final for the red shirts in close to 3 years, their last appearance coming in 2011. 

Sikuta vs Aringo (Photo - Shutterdiplomacy.com)

It was Impala that got off to the better start, Sam Onsomu going over but failing to convert for 5-0 lead. The red shirts held on to that lead into the break, doing a commendable job of holding off the physically imposing hosts. The red shirts were seconds away from a final berth before the marauding Dan Sikuta found a way past the Impala defence, rounding his marker to score under the posts. Kevin Atadi relaxing the heart rates of the Mwamba faithful from his successful conversion to send his side to the final, 7-5.

The Shield category saw Machine lose out to Blak Blad 10-15 in a heated match that saw Machine's Elphas Manya suffered a neck injury, which he has since recovered from. Egerton blew past the Stormers 38-0 to book the other final slot.

In the bowl, Nakuru edged out Kisumu 24-19 to set up a final against Eldoret who beat Daystar 19-14.

In the Plate, a brace from captain Andrew Amonde ensured that KCB reach the final courtesy of a 21-12 win over Nondies. In the other semi, Strath got past Western Bulls 22-7 to set up a potentially explosive final against the bankers.

Final Pairings

Shield Final :

Blakblad vs Egerton

Bowl Final :

Nakuru vs Eldoret

Plate Final :

KCB vs Strathmore

Bronze Final :

Quins vs Impala

Cup Final :

Mwamba vs Homeboyz

The Egerton wasps left the railways club with the Shield title in hand after beating Blak blad 17-7. The wasps are now on 4 points after that win. Blad are now on 6 points after the two legs.

Nakuru claimed the bowl title after a 17-0 win over Eldoret. The wanyore are now on 14 points with Eldoret on 7 points. 

KCB picked up the plate title and the 13 points it comes with after a 26-15 win over Strathmore, the bankers are now on 30 points. The Leos picked up 12 points here and are on 34 points. 

The bronze final saw a replay of the last game of day 1, the Ngong road derby with Quins taking on Impala. This was the third time the sides were meeting in two weeks with Quins having won the previous two meetings. They were stretched to the wall in this one as Impala took the early lead through Robert Aringo, Sam Onsomu hitting the resulting conversion against the post. 

Quins replied through two quick fire tries to take the lead at 10-5. Aringo was again at the centre of everything good that came from this Impala side, setting up Mutebi for a try under the sticks at the break. Onsomu again unluckily struck the conversion against the post to take the game into the break with the scores tied 10-10.

Action from the bronze final (photo - shutterdiplomacy.com)

The second half saw neither side break the deadlock despite their best efforts, Impala looking the more dangerous with ball in hand. Both sides were unfortunate not to close out the game but failing to convert the chances to points. The game thus went into sudden death where the first half was largely a continuation of the same that was before Eden Agero broke through the Impala line to charge for the line with the sound of the hooter filling the air. He touched down to hand his side the 15-10 win.

With that result, Quins are on 32 points, 4 points ahead of Impala who are on 28. 

The big final was not what many had predicted and it's end result was just as surprising to many. Mwamba had scrapped through to this point with lady luck having smiled down on them on several occasions. Homeboyz on their part had put in a top notch performance over the two days to beat all the odds and make it to the final.

It was the Homeboyz that hit the ground running literally as they put in three unanswered tries to charge to a 19-0 lead. Mwamba had not seen this coming as the djs played with great fluidity, controlling the breakdowns and hence the game. The Homeboyz settled in faster and the link between Michael Wanjala and Augustine Lughonzo was vital. The earlier's service from the break downs had been impeccable over the two days and it continued here. The way the two switched between scrum half and fly half in attack and defence was seamless.   

Oscar Ayodi in action in the final (Photo - Shutterdiplomacy.com)

Mwamba had seen a few chances go begging with Horace Otieno and Dan Sikuta the biggest threat in attack. The black shirts finally got points on the board with a try at the close of the half to make the scores 19-5. 

The second half saw Kulabu return with a new sense of urgency with the djs doing well to with hold the early pressure. There was however little they could do to prevent Mwamba's Horace Otieno from going over for his sides's second try to make it 19-10. At this point you felt that whoever scored next would take the cup home, and it was the team in yellow who did so. 

Oscar Ayodi doing well to set up his side's 4th try and put the result beyond doubt at  26-10. Horace went over to complete his brace at the death but it was a little too late in the day to have any impact as the hooter sounded to make the final score 26-15 to the Homeboyz.

The Homeboyz had claimed their first sevens title in their short decorated history. The Djs have been growing from strength to strength for a while now, they were close to a cup final last season before one of their dances played a part in denying them that berth. 

This time though there was no denying the djs after playing their hearts out over the two days, now that they have tasted glory there is no predicting what this young side can achieve this season. The side whose average age is below 23 draw a good number of players from the U-19 squad, it is good to see them match the older heads. 

Mwamba also had a young side, with Horace the only experienced head in the side after Injera and Chris Asego were sidelined by injuries. The side can only get better with the likes of Dan Sikuta and Kevin Atadi showing their pedigree here.

I will be running a dream 12 here after each tournament, here is Kabeberi's, feel free to put yours in the comments section :

1. Tony Owuor (Strathmore)

2. Robert Aringo (Impala)

3. Joshua Chisanga (Homeboyz)

4. Sam Onsomu (Impala)

5. Eden Agero (Quins)

6. Oscar Ayodi (Homeboyz)

7. Leornard Mugaisi (Homeboyz)

8. Horace Otieno (Mwamba)

9. Dan Sikuta (Mwamba)

10. Augustine Lughonzo (Homeboyz)

11. Sammy Oliech (Impala)

12. Billy Odhiambo (Strathmore)

The competition was really tough especially at the forwards, those who missed and are worth a mention are Andrew Amonde, Davis Chenge, Ginton Adongo, Adrian Opondo, Richie from Impala among a host of others.

My MVP is still between Robert Aringo and Oscar Ayodi, the two had a massive impact on the fortunes of their respective sides. Oscar's contribution in the final and Majei's against KCB was the pick from the two. The tournament went with Leonard Mugaisi who also had a great two days but he was dwarfed by these two in all honesty.

Most Promising young player went to Sam Onsomu of Impala, not sure he is that young though hehe, this one was fully deserved. He pipped Michael Wanjala of the Homeboyz to take this one.

It was a great two days of sevens rugby, Mwamba outdid themselves and silenced the doubters by hosting a well run festival of rugby. The Chairman Alvas Onguru was backed by a very young team who are bound to do even a better job in the future, Well in guys!

The series takes a break this weekend with the Kenya Lionesses fundraiser touch tournament taking centre stage this weekend. It will be the opportune time for sides to take stock of the last two legs, attend to their injured in preparation for the next leg, The Driftwood sevens at the coast.

With that ladies and gents.....

KWISHA, Nimeruka Nje!!!