It has been an uplifting two weeks for many a Kenya sevens fan, as they watched the side get their groove back on in Wellington and Vegas.
This was the Kenya sevens we were all crying out for, hungry, untamed and above all having fun while at it. This side gave us glimpses of some of the best rugby we have seen in quite a while, I’d say since Benja’s time.
In Wellington, the side managed to wiggle out of a sticky pool, as I mentioned earlier here, that performance against Scotland stood out. It showed that we could finally play the situation instead of sticking to a play book. The fluid showing against Samoa in the final pool game showed that we could morph into anything to get the result.
In Vegas, we saw great improvement especially in the character of the side, crawling from the jaws of defeat against Canada to claim a 22-21 result. Our first win against the Canadians after some painful losses. We had the strong start that we had hoped for.
We almost replicated that feat against Argentina, after trailing 14-7 at the break, eventually falling to a 19-14 result. With better decisions we would have taken this one, however, that result would eventually come. The pool was now tied with each team on 4 points, the last round of matches would be the decider
We again found ourselves trailing 14-0 at the half time break against England on Day 2, doing well to battle to a 21-14 result. This result meant we dropped to the Bowl competition, where we met Portugal, the script from the first three matches held, coming back from a 7-5 score at the break to claim a 17-7 result and proceed to the Bowl semis.
It should be mentioned here that in that game Lavin Asego hit the half century mark in his try tally, he would later overtake Collins Injera and be country’s all time top points scorer. More on the maestro a bit later.
That result set up a clash against Samoa, the second in as many weeks. This for me, was the pick of the lot from the two weeks. It embodied everything I would like to see in a Kenya sevens side, we were fluid, solid in defence and neat at the break down, in so many words, we were in control.
It could be said that the Samoans were not at their best, same could be said of us really. Either way we were first on the score board, for the first time in Vegas and never looked back as we went on to claim a 19-5 result. To set up a second meeting against Argentina.
This time round, we were ready for the Argentines, taking the early lead, they hit back just before the break to tie the game at 7 all. The second half was all Kenya, as second half substitute Leonard Mugaisi led the onslaught with a brace, Mwale completing his for a 24-21 result and the Bowl trophy.
The technical bench should be proud of this showing, as the side looked to have improved with each match. Their management of the 12 players also needs to be applauded as they utilised the subs bench superbly, throwing in the right changes at the right time.
The side picked up a total of 18 points from the two weekends, courtesy of a Plate semi and a Bowl trophy. We are now in 12th spot on 29 points.
I can not end this post without dedicating a paragraph or two to the maestro, Lavin ‘Back of the Bus’ Asego. Definitely the stand out performer from the two legs. The conductor of the Kenya sevens Orchestra, waving his baton as the team pelted beautiful tune after beautiful tune.
Little is said about his contribution in defence, but over the last two weeks it almost matched his attack prowess. He was finally playing with a free role, popping up and poking holes in the opposition defence at will. The side fed off his brilliance.
Dan Sikuta, Billy Odhiambo and Andrew Amonde also deserve a mention here, the first two especially for their work going forward. Amonde for his work at the break down, that largely goes unnoticed. Indeed everyone of the 12 played out his role in the side.
We now need to polish up on the rough edges, the slow starts are a cause of concern, so is the defence, once a side put together more than three phases they got past us a bit too easily. I am under no illusions that this will take a bit of time, but it was re assuring to see this side play like this. A breath of fresh air..
And hey, the dancing is back, though a bit uncoordinated, we understand that it has been quite a while. Though clearly some need a bit more work than others in this department hehe.
KWISHA…Nimeruka Nje!!!
