The first two legs of the 2019 Stanbic National sevens series has produced some memorable moments both on and off the field, apart from the two different winners, the first two legs have brought with them a few surprises and indeed reminded us of the magic of sevens rugby.
While the banter around relegation, mid night runs and last minute pull outs make for great laughs, a closer look at the numbers from the first two legs make for even greater reading.
1,188 The number of Kilometers covered by the teams in the round trips to Meru (225 Kms) and Kakamega (369 Kms), from Nairobi, that number hits 3,000 for Mombasa RFC.
49 The number of teams that have so far played in the two legs of the series, 17 in the first division, 29 in the second. Three of these have played in both divisions, the Northern Suburb Cubs, Blak Blad and the CUEA Monks.
210 The number of matches played in the two legs so far, with a total of 120 matches in the second division, 90 in the first.
36 The number of match officials that oversaw those 210 matches, meaning that every official oversaw an average of 5.8 or rather 6 matches.
In terms of scoring..
2,504 The total number of points scored in the first division so far, from 416 tries (203 in Kakamega, 213 in Meru), 209 conversions (99 in Kakamega, 110 in Meru) and 2 penalties, both coming in Kakamega.
50.2% The average conversion rate of tries so far (48.7 % from Kakamega, 51.6% from Meru), which is quite impressive, seeing as conversions have been one of our biggest headaches in the national team.
27.8 The average number of points scored per game in the first division, roughly translating to five tries per game. Which has made for very entertaining matches.
3,159 The total number of points scored in the second division (1,690 in Kakamega and 1,469 in Meru). The scoring average per game is 26.3 points, roughly the same as in the first division.
30 The number of points, Makueni RFC have at the top of the standings in the second division, they sit three points above the pair of Daystar Falcons and Vihiga Granites, the latter earned promotion to the first division. Makueni gathered 17 points in Kakamega and 13 at Kabeberi. Makueni have score 233 points so far and have conceded 77 points.
39 The number of points, Stanbic Mwamba RFC have at the top of the series standings, two more than second placed KCB. Kulabu have so far scored 307 points, while conceding 60, those numbers see the black shirts boast of the meanest defence and attack in the series this far.
167 The number of players who have so far made a score of any kind in the first division of the series.
11 The number of tries the trio of Derrick Keyoga (Menengai Oilers), Vincent Onyala (KCB) and Billy Odhiambo (Stanbic Mwamba) has scored this far, to see them tied top of the try scorers chart. The hard running Keyoga however holds a slight advantage having also kicked over one conversion to take his total points tally to 57.
75 The total number of points Resolution Impala’s Mark Kwemoi has scored so far in the series (7 tries and 20 conversions). The lanky playmaker, a former series MVP, scored one try and seven conversions in Kakamega with the rest coming at the Kabeberi sevens.
Countless The number of cheers, tears, laughs and banter the series has so far generated and it can only get better. Up next, Dala sevens!
KWISHA… Nimeruka Nje!!!
