After the resignation of Mike Friday as Kenya Sevens Head coach, the KRU has been searching for Big M's replacement, preferably one of his calibre, probably better. Under Friday, Kenya Sevens has achieved unprecedented feats in a very short period of time, a 5th place finish in the 2012/13 season and a 4th place finish in the World Cup. His will no doubt be a tough act to follow.
Few names have been thrown around as potential replacements, but one has kept coming back, that of former Blitz Bokke head coach, Paul Treu. It has been widely rumoured that the union has been in talks with Treu since the London sevens, whether he has decided to take up this job or not, is yet to be known.
It's no secret that Kenya is one of the most attractive jobs on the circuit, with the upcoming Olympic games in 2016, that attraction goes up a few notches. Yes it does come with it's problems, what job doesn't?
The last season barely scratched the surface, in my opinion, of the heights we could hit in the shorter version of the game, given the right set up. This right set up is what the union must strive to maintain when picking the next technical bench, I believe Paul Treu gives us that.
The 42 year old has been in the South African sevens set up since 1999, as a player (played as sweeper) until 2002, before taking up the head coach role in 2004. A role he has held for the last ten seasons. He is the most successful sevens coach outside the godfather Gordon Tietjens, with 14 tournament titles and the 2008-09 series title under his belt. He also led the Springbok sevens to three world cups, a bronze finish his best return out of the three.
There is no doubt that Treu will be a step up from Friday, and with this, should he be appointed, comes with increased expectations from the Kenya sevens fans from across the globe. Treu has had a reputation for his no none sense approach and tough training regimes when he was in South Africa, his results speak for themselves.
Which brings in the question of the strength and conditioning coach, as you know Chris Brown followed Mike Friday out the door, he was probably the unsung hero in last season's set up. His, was the greatest and most notable impact on the team, and with Big M unable to reside in Nairobi, it was down to him and Felix Ochieng to handle the day to day running of the team's program.
It is expected that if Treu was to accept the Kenya offer, he would come on board with his S&C coach, who will in turn mentor a few local S&C coaches during his stay here as was with Chris Brown. Looking at South Africa in the last season, they were one of the few sides that could match up to us physically so I don't expect us to dip here.
Treu was also the one coach that Friday failed to beat out rightly in the circuit, out of the four times the two met, Treu came out top on three occasions. The one time we managed to get the better of him was in Wellington where we had lady luck well rested on our lap. That a one point victory, 21-20 in the cup quarter finals. He also was responsible for one of our biggest losses last season, a 41-7 thumping in our first meeting in Australia.
Still on last season, Treu picked up three cups with South Africa, in Vegas, Japan and Scotland. Our closest sniff at a title came in Wellington in that Cup final robbery. Apart from that, a third place finish and three fourth place finishes were our best returns. A Shield semi final, two bowl semi finals and a final our other finishes. South Africa on the other hand, had two third place finishes, a Plate Semi final, a Bowl semi and a final to show from last season.
The two coaches had a similar problem in that season, consistency. Whilst Friday started his two legged tours on a high fading in the end, Treu took time to pick up, peaking in the second tournaments. Indeed, two of his three cup triumphs came in second leg tournaments, Vegas came after a dismal show in Wellington, Japan after a slow start in Hong Kong. It was only in Scotland where he managed to win in the first leg, then predictably dipped in the second.
So if Treu was to come on board, consistency would be an issue, a coach of his pedigree though, would already have an idea of how to solve this.
The union has made it clear that they will be looking to engage a coach on full time basis, unlike Big M who had to shuffle between Nairobi and London monthly.A full time coach will have better control over the day to day running of the team and a better chemistry with the side.
By accepting the Kenya Job, Treu will be forced to work under a tighter budget than he enjoyed in South Africa. We can not match up to South Africa in terms of resources, but with the improved sponsorship package from Kenya Airways, he should enjoy a better resource pool. Being a young rugby playing nation though comes with it's benefits to coaches as structures are not as rigid as they are in the older teams.
He would have a greater impact on the future of the country in a shorter period of time than he would have elsewhere. Look at Friday's impact over the past year, compare the local sevens series from last year and the ongoing one.
The biggest criticism of Friday was probably the fact that he had seemingly killed the flair that was associated with the Kenya sevens style of play. There were fewer side steps, dummies with players opting to take the ball into contact more often than not. With Treu, again if he comes, this would not be a problem, having nurtured the likes of Cecil Afrika and Cornal Hendricks.
Once more, if he does come, Treu will definitely be a step up from Big M in many ways.
On a lighter note, he appears to be a more chilled out character than his predecessor, especially on social media (@paultreu). Thus, I don't expect him to take on every Tom, Dick and Harry that feels like he or she has an issue to raise. Does he also love Lions? I don't know maybe he prefers Springboks, who knows... We'll have to get him a nick name though...Big P is a Big NO!
With the right environment, he should prove me right and improve from where Friday left off.
Whoever it is that is set to take over, should do so immediately, seeing as the new season is just around the corner. Safari sevens is barely a month away, probably get to see the remaining legs of the local circuit and get an early glimpse of the team.
It might be Treu or not, either way, there definitely is a life after Friday and a bright one at that, that is TRUE!
With that ladies and gents....
KWISHA, Nimeruka Nje!!!
Few names have been thrown around as potential replacements, but one has kept coming back, that of former Blitz Bokke head coach, Paul Treu. It has been widely rumoured that the union has been in talks with Treu since the London sevens, whether he has decided to take up this job or not, is yet to be known.
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| Paul Treu |
It's no secret that Kenya is one of the most attractive jobs on the circuit, with the upcoming Olympic games in 2016, that attraction goes up a few notches. Yes it does come with it's problems, what job doesn't?
The last season barely scratched the surface, in my opinion, of the heights we could hit in the shorter version of the game, given the right set up. This right set up is what the union must strive to maintain when picking the next technical bench, I believe Paul Treu gives us that.
The 42 year old has been in the South African sevens set up since 1999, as a player (played as sweeper) until 2002, before taking up the head coach role in 2004. A role he has held for the last ten seasons. He is the most successful sevens coach outside the godfather Gordon Tietjens, with 14 tournament titles and the 2008-09 series title under his belt. He also led the Springbok sevens to three world cups, a bronze finish his best return out of the three.
There is no doubt that Treu will be a step up from Friday, and with this, should he be appointed, comes with increased expectations from the Kenya sevens fans from across the globe. Treu has had a reputation for his no none sense approach and tough training regimes when he was in South Africa, his results speak for themselves.
Which brings in the question of the strength and conditioning coach, as you know Chris Brown followed Mike Friday out the door, he was probably the unsung hero in last season's set up. His, was the greatest and most notable impact on the team, and with Big M unable to reside in Nairobi, it was down to him and Felix Ochieng to handle the day to day running of the team's program.
It is expected that if Treu was to accept the Kenya offer, he would come on board with his S&C coach, who will in turn mentor a few local S&C coaches during his stay here as was with Chris Brown. Looking at South Africa in the last season, they were one of the few sides that could match up to us physically so I don't expect us to dip here.
Still on last season, Treu picked up three cups with South Africa, in Vegas, Japan and Scotland. Our closest sniff at a title came in Wellington in that Cup final robbery. Apart from that, a third place finish and three fourth place finishes were our best returns. A Shield semi final, two bowl semi finals and a final our other finishes. South Africa on the other hand, had two third place finishes, a Plate Semi final, a Bowl semi and a final to show from last season.
The two coaches had a similar problem in that season, consistency. Whilst Friday started his two legged tours on a high fading in the end, Treu took time to pick up, peaking in the second tournaments. Indeed, two of his three cup triumphs came in second leg tournaments, Vegas came after a dismal show in Wellington, Japan after a slow start in Hong Kong. It was only in Scotland where he managed to win in the first leg, then predictably dipped in the second.
So if Treu was to come on board, consistency would be an issue, a coach of his pedigree though, would already have an idea of how to solve this.
The union has made it clear that they will be looking to engage a coach on full time basis, unlike Big M who had to shuffle between Nairobi and London monthly.A full time coach will have better control over the day to day running of the team and a better chemistry with the side.
By accepting the Kenya Job, Treu will be forced to work under a tighter budget than he enjoyed in South Africa. We can not match up to South Africa in terms of resources, but with the improved sponsorship package from Kenya Airways, he should enjoy a better resource pool. Being a young rugby playing nation though comes with it's benefits to coaches as structures are not as rigid as they are in the older teams.
He would have a greater impact on the future of the country in a shorter period of time than he would have elsewhere. Look at Friday's impact over the past year, compare the local sevens series from last year and the ongoing one.
The biggest criticism of Friday was probably the fact that he had seemingly killed the flair that was associated with the Kenya sevens style of play. There were fewer side steps, dummies with players opting to take the ball into contact more often than not. With Treu, again if he comes, this would not be a problem, having nurtured the likes of Cecil Afrika and Cornal Hendricks.
Once more, if he does come, Treu will definitely be a step up from Big M in many ways.
On a lighter note, he appears to be a more chilled out character than his predecessor, especially on social media (@paultreu). Thus, I don't expect him to take on every Tom, Dick and Harry that feels like he or she has an issue to raise. Does he also love Lions? I don't know maybe he prefers Springboks, who knows... We'll have to get him a nick name though...Big P is a Big NO!
With the right environment, he should prove me right and improve from where Friday left off.
Whoever it is that is set to take over, should do so immediately, seeing as the new season is just around the corner. Safari sevens is barely a month away, probably get to see the remaining legs of the local circuit and get an early glimpse of the team.
It might be Treu or not, either way, there definitely is a life after Friday and a bright one at that, that is TRUE!
With that ladies and gents....
KWISHA, Nimeruka Nje!!!
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