Former Wales international rugby union player Matt Robinson and former English rugby union player Danny Grewcock will grace this year’s edition of the Ndume 7s Rugby Tournament set for the Pembroke House School in Gilgil on Saturday.
The duo will join the team of referees at the rugby tournament, which will be held for the 46th year since its inception in 1977. The 50-year-old Robinson began his playing career at Newport High School before kickstarting his professional career at Swansea.
Robinson’s debut for the national team was against Scotland at Murrayfield in 1999, going on to make four appearances for the Welsh – his last match against Argentina in Buenos Aires in June 1999.
On his part, Grewcock garnered 69 caps for the English national team as well as five at the club level for the British and Irish Lions.
The lifelong Coventry City FC fan played in the national team for a decade during which he scored 10 points.
The duo’s presence in Gilgil will undoubtedly add gloss to one of the oldest rugby competitions in the country and inspire hundreds of young talents who will battling for top honours.
This year’s competition is anticipated to attract over 200 schoolchildren from 10 Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) from across the country.
The tournament also features a public schools fair, which includes 28 topflight senior schools from South Africa and the United Kingdom.
The matches, open to boys and girls aged under 11 and 13 years, will be played across six pitches on the school campus.
Last year’s edition, held after a two-year hiatus occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic, was won by Braeburn who defeated the hosts 14-5 to clinch the boys’ Under-13 category.
Kenton were victors in the boys’ Under-11 category after dismissing Peponi School as Banda School defeated Braeburn to win the girls’ category.
The tournament has in the past birthed young players who have gone on to make the national team, including Simbas player Dominic Coulson, Mark Mutuku as well as Toby Francombe and Cameron Coulson among the players.
