Kenya National Sevens Circuit

Kenya National Sevens Circuit
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2015 Kenya National Sevens Circuit

Kenya National Sevens Circuit
Sport Rugby union
Founded 1998
Inaugural season 1999
Country Kenya
Most recent
champion(s)		 Kenya Commercial Bank RFC 2014
Sponsor(s) Western Union

The Kenya National Sevens Circuit (NSC) is a series of seven-a-side competitions that take place in various towns and cities in the major rugby playing parts of the country after the end of the regular 15-a-side season. Kenya has a long history of seven-a-side tournaments dating back to the earliest days of rugby in the colony; with the growing popularity of Sevens resulting from the disproportionate success of the national team on the world stage, it was decided that several of the more prestigious tournaments should be gathered into a single competition. In addition, at the same time, a Schools Sevens Championship was introduced to ensure a consistent conveyor-belt of the nation's best talent.

Previously the tournaments took place at the end of the regular season in November and December (Kenya stradles the Equator but the country has always aligned with the Southern Hemisphere rugby season) but as of 2010, following a complete restructure of the rugby calendar throughout East Africa, the tournaments now occur in August and September.

Constituent tournaments

Constituent Tournaments of the Kenya National Sevens Circuit
Christie Sevens Dala Sevens Driftwood Sevens Kabeberi Sevens Prinsloo Sevens
Hosts Kenya Harlequin F.C. Kisumu RFC Mombasa RFC Mwamba RFC Nakuru RFC
Venue RFUEA Ground
Nairobi		 Kisumu Polytechnic
Kisumu		 Mombasa Sports Club
Mombasa		 RFUEA Ground
Nairobi		 Nakuru Athletic Club
Nakuru
Notes The tournament is named after former Kenya Harlequin Chairman, Alex Christie (also Vice President of Wasps FC in London and President of the RFUEA) and is regarded as the longest running sevens tournament in Kenya, having been played every year since 1962. Kisumu is regarded by many Kenyans as home because many people in Nairobi either left Kisumu to find work in the capital or are descended from people who did. Dala means home in the Luo language that is spoken on the eastern shores of Lake Victoria. The Driftwood Beach Club, Malindi, donated the trophy (appropriately, a piece of driftwood shaped by the winds, waves and currents of the Indian Ocean) and asked that their sevens tournament from the early 1970s be revived. Named for of former Mwamba player George Mwangi Kabeberi who died in 1986. Named after Peter Walter Prinsloo, a rugby player from South Africa who - after moving to Nakuru - reignited interest in the game in the Rift Valley during the 1980s.
2009 21–22 November 14–15 November 12–13 December 5–6 December 28–29 November
2010 14–15 November 4–5 September 25–26 September 18–19 September 27–28 August
2011 10–11 September 27–28 August 1–2 October 24–25 September 3–4 September
2012 11–12 August 18–19 August 15–16 September 8–9 September 1–2 September
2013 7–8 September 3–4 August 24–25 August 10–11 August 31 August–1 September
2014 6–7 September 9–10 August 23–24 August 2–3 August 30–31 August
2015 1–2 August 8–9 August 22–23 August 5–6 September 29–30 August

History of seven-a-side rugby in East Africa

RAF Sevens

The first seven-a-side competition in Kenya was the 1937 RAF Sevens. The cup for this annual competition was presented by 223 Squadron, Royal Air Force and the competition was open to all clubs in East Africa (i.e. within Kenya Colony, Uganda Protectorate and Tanganyika Territory) and any other combination of players who wished to enter a team. The tournament was usually played over the August Bank Holiday weekend and was a very popular addition to the Kenya rugby and Nairobi social calendars.[1]

Incidentally 223 Squadron (The squadron was based at RAF Eastleigh - now Moi Air Base - Nairobi) were the first RAF squadron to field a rugby team in East Africa, though they were far from the first military team as Royal Navy vessels had been playing against the colonists since, at the latest, 1922. The "Royal Air Force (Kenya) RFC" first fielded a team in 1937 captained by a Corporal Clarke with Pilot Officer Roden as vice-captain and the team owed a lot to the behind-the-scenes work of Squadron Leader Pitcairn-Hill. In about 1955 the team changed its name to "United Services Eastleigh RFC" when captained by Flight Lieutenant Frielich with Corporal Freeman as vice-captain, with the administrative assistance of Squadron Leader Warren and Flight Officer Goodwin. Players of note during the club's early years include a three-quarter called Mickelthwaite, a fly-half called Cahou and another three-quarter, Tony Hale, all three of whom were on the cusp of selection for Kenya and/or East Africa.[1]

Nakuru Sevens

The first Nakuru sevens were held in approximately 1949, usually being held fairly early in the season, attracting entrants from West Kenya and Central Province. The original cup was lost within a few years of the start of the tournament so early winners are uncertain. A replacement cup was kindly presented by Mr. HO Salt and was known as the Salt Cup.[1]

Nile Sevens

The first Nile Sevens were held in 1950 and were held annually for at least the next ten years. The winner is presented with a mounted silver rugby ball known as the Krell Trophy which was presented in 1951 for this purpose by Mr. Cecil Krell who had done valuable work for rugby union in East Africa in both Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.[1]

Teams for the Nile Sevens could be entered by clubs or by any combination of players, hence the unfamiliar team names for some of the winners.[1]

Jones Cup (Sevens)

The Jones Cup was named after MJU Stompie Jones, a former Eldoret player whose representative playing career spanned an astonishing 20 years. He played for Kenya against the touring Combined South African Universities team in 1930 and against the University of Stellenbosch in 1935 and finally for East Africa against the University of Cape Town in 1949/50.[1]

Ironically, having been named for someone who had demonstrated unparalleled longevity, the Jones Cup was to have a remarkably short tenure as a seven-a-side trophy. In 1954, after just two years, it was redesignated as the trophy for the winner of the West Kenya zone of the Enterprise Cup.[1]

Other sevens tournaments in Kenya

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Campbell, M; Cohen, E.J. (1960). Rugby Football in East Africa 1909-1959. Rugby Football Union of East Africa.
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