Airtel Dala Sevens is the next battle ground for the Kenya Rugby Football National Sevens Circuit.
Thirty two teams, 20 in division one and 12 in the lower division will be at the lakeside town on Saturday and Sunday to vie for top honors.
Kenya Harlequin FC, winners of the first tournament, Kenya Harlequin FC Christie Sevens are the top seeds with Mwamba, the defending KRU Sevens champions second.
The tournament at the Kisumu Polytechnic ground will give an early indicator of the destiny of the trophy with all the national team players expected to turn up for their club sides. Ulinzi won the inaugural Dala Sevens in 2003.
Save for a dry spell in 2007/2008 when the tournament was not because of financial constraints on the part of the host club, Kisumu RFC, it made a return in 2009 and has developed as a unique event which attracts all the top teams.
Mwamba RFC are the defending Dala Sevens champions.
Kenya Harlequin began the 2012 National Sevens Circuit on a high, winning their home tournament, the Christie Sevens, with a comprehensive 31-12 win over Mwamba RFC in the main cup final played at the RFUEA Grounds on Sunday.
After the final, Charles Cardovillis, the Quins coach said, "It was obviously tough being the first tournament, getting the boys to gel and play together...but we've been in about six or seven weeks of training...working hard. It has been a bit disjointed because of the national team players not being able to join us all the time.
They' ve come to the party, shown a lot of maturity. We had a few injuries on day one, and played with ten players on day two, but the boys pulled through, showed a lot of character and kudos to them."
Mwamba coach Tito Oduk said, "The two top teams met in the final. It was a tight first half but we lacked depth in the second half, the quality of our subs wasn't as good as what Quins had on their bench, that was the telling difference towards the end of the game.
It was a good fight. We have a number of things to ponder on in the coming week, working on the defence and the width of our attack. We were attacking a bit too narrow, especially as we had far quicker players than Quins...it would have been wiser to spread them a bit wider. Anyway, win some, lose some, they deserved to win, they have been the best team over the weekend."
Dala Sevens Draw Pool A: Quins, Western Bulls, Blak Blad, Catholic University. Pool B: Mwamba, Nakuru, Mean Machine, Kenya Polytechnic. Pool C: Kenya Commercial Bank, Kisumu RFC, Eldoret RFC, Stormers. Pool D: Strathmore University, Homeboyz, Impala, Daystar University. Pool E: KCA University, Moi University, Siaya MTC, Kitale RFC.
Division One: Quins v Blak Blad (10 am), Western Bulls v Catholic University (10.18), Mwamba v Mean Machine (10.36), Nakuru v Kenya Polytechnic (10.54), KCB v Eldoret (11.12), Kisumu v Stormers (11.30), Strathmore v Impala (11.48), Homeboyz v Daystar (12.06), Quins v Catholic University (12.24), Western Bulls v Blak Blad (12.42), Mwamba v Kenya Polytechnic (1 pm), Nakuru v Mean Machine (1.18), KCB v Stormers (1.36), Kisumu v Eldoret (1.54), Strathmore v Daystar (2.12), Homeboyz v Impala (2.30), Blak Blad v Catholic University (2.48), Mean Machine v Kenya Polytechnic (3.06), Eldoret v Stormers (3.24), Impala v Daystar (3.42), Quins v Western Bulls (4.18), Mwamba v Nakuru (16.36), KCB v Kisumu (4.54), Strathmore v Homeboyz (5.12) Division Two Pool F: Multimedia University, Masinde Muliro University, Kakamega RFC, Mbale. Pool G: Bungoma RFC, Webuye, Comras, Molo RFC. Pool H: Oryx, Thika RFC, Kisii RFC, Mumias. Order of play KCA University v Siaya (10 am), Moi University v Kitale (10.18), Multimedia v Kakamega (10.36), Masinde Muliro v Mbale (10.54), Bungoma v Comras (11.12), Webuye v Molo (11.30), Oryx v Kisii (11.48), Thika v Mumias (12.06), KCA University v Kitale (12.24), Moi University v Siaya MTC (12.42), Multimedia v Mbale (1.00), Masinde Muliro v Kakamega (1.18), Bungoma v Molo (1.36), Webuye v Comras (1.54), Oryx v Mumias (2.12), Thika v Kisii (2.30), Siaya MTC v Kitale (2.48), Kakamega v Mbale (3.06), Comras v Molo (3.24), Kisii v Mumias (3.42), KCA University v Moi University (4.18), Multimedia v Masinde Muliro (4.36), Bungoma v WEbuye (4.54), Oryx v Thika (5.12).
Eric Odanga
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Additional reporting by KRU
