Big guns take early leads in Prinsloo 7s

The third outing of the National 7s Circuit Prinsloo 7s kicked off in Nakuru on August 5 with teams registering a rollercoaster of results in round one and two.

Pool A

Kisumu RFC were slow off the blocks in the 2023 Prinsloo 7s following a 14-12 loss to Western Bulls. The Bulls were making a comeback to the Division I and were looking to stun in the Pool. The lakeside team on the other hand was coming from a sixth-place finish in Driftwood 7s. 

According to Kisumu RFC Coach Lawi Buyachi, the side kicked off on a low, but were keen to right the wrongs in the second match of the day. 

True to his words, the side made a comeback by seeing off Homeboyz RFC 19-17 in their second pool match. Kisumu RFC will face their long time opponents Kabras RFC in the final match of the day.

Their poolmates Kabras RFC too started on a low, narrowly 21-19 over Homeboyz RFC. Kabras RFC head coach Felix Ayange acknowledged that his charges had more misses than hits in their first match. Kabras managed tries through the sensational Jone Kubu and Lameck Ambetsa while Cantona added the extras.

"We had lots of missed tackles, our urgency was wanting, and we had discipline issues. We will be looking to rectify in the upcoming match," he offered.

In their next pool match, the Sugarmen powered 31-7 past Western Bulls in the closely contested match. 

Kabras managed five-pointers through Lameck Ambetsa, and a brace from Griffin Chao. Former MMUST RFC playmaker Eric Cantona managed two conversions. Cantona was making his debut for the Sugarmen.

Pool B

Nondies fell 19-14 to Catholic Monks in their opening match of the day. The Red Shirts who finished 7th in Driftwood 7s, an improvement from their ninth-place finish at the Dala 7s were aiming at yet another top eight finish in Nakuru.

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They however met their archrivals Nakuru RFC who were keen to cause upset at home. The first meeting between these two sides in Dala ended in a 14-14 draw. Nakuru RFC then fell 10-5 to Callum Oliver's charges in Driftwood 7s. Today, the sides shared 10-10 spoils. 

National 7s Circuit defending champions Menengai Oilers managed a five-pointer in the nail-biting Nakuru derby pitting them and Nakuru RFC. Oilers' sole try came from Kenyan International Beldad Ogeta in the dying hours of the game. 

According to Gibson Weru, the side was aiming at building up as they prepared to defend their title.

"We are building up slowly. A win is a win, but we are aiming higher. It is too early to predict this year's Circuit. As I said earlier, this circuit will be a competitive one, so we are gearing up," Gibu told Mozzart Sport.

The Oilers are also out to defend the Prinsloo 7s title they won in 2022 following a 12-7 win over Strathmore Leos.

The well-oiled Oilers managed another pool win by punishing the high-flying Catholic Monks 24-7.

Pool C

Kenya Harlequins were also held to a 26-26 draw with Blak Blad. The students were making a comeback after two poor opening legs. Quins will be seeking consistency this circuit after finishing their Driftwood 7s campaign at sixth-place.

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Speaking to Mozzart Sport, Blak Blad RFC Captain Dennis Opiyo said that the side has made tremendous progress from their Division II performance in Dala. The students were invited to Division I in Driftwood 7s but failed to sparkle. They were on a revenge mission. 

"It has been a good progress from the first two tournaments. We started poorly, conceding two tries, which was a major comeback. But it was a good show of character, coming back in the second half," he noted.

The Quins headed to the second match keen to rectify their opening match shortcomings. They started the match on a wrong footing after losing assistant captain Zeden Marrow to the naughty chair. 

MMUST capitalized on the numerical advantage to score a penalty try and a five-pointer. HT scores 12-7.

Quins, despite being one man less came back stronger in the closing half, to score nine more points that further weakened the Makakas. FT 26-12.

The Bankers started their Prinsloo 7s campaign with a 36-7 victory over MMUST before seeing off Blak Blad 19-14 in the closely contested match. 

Pool D

Mwamba RFC were looking to bounce back from their first match where they almost lost to Zetech Oaks. The match ended 10-7 in favor of Collins Injera's charges.

They were up against Daystar Falcons in the second pool match. The Falcons were looking to bounce back from an opening 24-12 defeat to Strathmore Leos. 

They were however hammered 19-12 by the sleek Mwamba RFC. 

The last round two match was a varsity derby pitting Strathmore Leos and Zetech Oaks. Zetech failed to bounce back from the initial downfall, losing 24-12 to the Leos.