Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) rugby 7s team coach Andrew Amonde believes there is more to come from the National Sevens Circuit (NSC) with two legs remaining in Eldoret and Nairobi respectively.
Amonde predicts that the next two winners of the Tisap Sevens and Kabeberi Sevens will be huge determinants on the winner of the overall competition.
“I think the last two legs will count a lot. It will be interesting to see who wins the last two legs…the person who wins them both stands a good chance of winning the National Sevens Circuit. It’s a competition of the top four; we know where we stand and we will go back to the drawing board and see where we can get to the top,” Amonde said.
KCB clinched the Christie Sevens with a 17-12 win over the immediate defending champions Strathmore Leos in a heated final for the Christie Sevens at the RFUEA Grounds along Ngong Road in Nairobi.
Brian Wahinya and Festus Shiasi got on the scoresheet for the bankers – with a conversion from the former – as Gabriel Ayimba and Andrew Matoka replied for the students.
The two teams had met in the group phase, with KCB collecting a huge 40-0 win.
Nonetheless, Amonde acknowledged that the final was a different affair as their Lang’ata Road-based opponents sought to defend their title.
“I think that finals are different from the group stage games. You can take some chances and get yourself to a final…so that shows they are a quality team. They came out very fast and we had to push ourselves and win this final,” he said.
Missing piece
Meanwhile, Leos coach Louis “Fadhee” Kisia was gutted at the absence of star player Victor Mola Odhiambo who he believes would have made a huge difference in the game.
“Unfortunately, my speedster got injured…he’s one of the players who’s got speed, pace for pace. We missed him big time today…we brought in Matoka Matoka. Not to take anything away from him but he’s just transitioning from the 15s to the 7s, which is not easy,” Kisia said.
Nonetheless, Fadhee insists that this is their best performance in the NSC so far, patting the boys on the back for bringing their A-game to Quins’ home ground.
“This is the best finish we have had in this series so far. A good effort from them to ensure that we are in the finals. I think 19 points for a runner-up is better than the 10 points we earned the last time round,” he said.
The students lie third on the NSC log with 63 points, 17 behind leaders Kabras Sugar RFC and 15 behind second-placed KCB.
The next leg of the circuit is scheduled for September 2-3 in Eldoret before the ultimate round at the Kabeberi Sevens, a week later in Nairobi.
