Mwamba eye home glory as Kabeberi Sevens beckons

Mwamba RFC head coach Paul Murunga says the club is heading into this weekend’s George Kabeberi Sevens at the RFUEA Grounds with renewed confidence, buoyed by the contrasting fortunes of its men’s and women’s teams in the opening legs of the National Sevens Circuit.

Mwamba’s women have dominated the opening two legs, while the men have shown significant improvement, rising from an 11th-place finish at the Prinsloo Sevens to claim third at the Dala Sevens in Kisumu.

“From Prinsloo going to Dala, the ladies’ team had a perfect performance winning both legs and as we prepare for Kabeberi we hope they play well and win it. On the gents’ team we finished eleventh in Prinsloo but made a big step of improvement by finishing third in Dala,” said Murunga.

The former Kenya Sevens and Under-20 coach says the men’s team has used the build-up to Kabeberi to address mistakes identified in Kisumu, while keeping expectations realistic for the young squad.

“As I said I think we made a big statement after finishing eleventh to third and we didn't put very high targets for our young side. Our target was to get to main cup quarters and proceed from there. I think we have already over delivered and we don’t want to put pressure on them, they just have to enjoy themselves making sure they tick all the boxes. In our training sessions we will make sure we fix our mistakes and play well and definitely results will come,” he added.

Murunga believes the team is ready to make the most of home advantage and has urged Mwamba supporters and rugby fans across the country to turn up in large numbers.

“I think we are well prepared for this one which is a home tournament, and of course, we encourage all Mwamba fans together with all rugby fraternity in Nairobi and all over the country to come and cheer up their teams.”

Mwamba have been drawn in Pool ‘B’ alongside Strathmore Leos, Nondescripts and CUEA Monks, who earned promotion back to Division One after winning the Division Two title at Dala.

Pool ‘A’ features Kenya Harlequin, Daystar Falcons and Kisumu RFC, while Dala Sevens runners-up Menengai Oilers headline Pool C alongside Zetech Oaks, Blak Blad and Mombasa RFC.

Defending champions KCB Rugby headline Pool ‘D’, where they will face Kabras Sugar, MMUST and Nakuru RFC.