2011 Safari Sevens | |
---|---|
Host nation | ![]() |
Date | 4–6 November 2011 |
Cup | |
Champion | ![]() |
Runner-up | Samurai Sevens |
Plate | |
Winner | Auckland Vikings |
Runner-up | ![]() |
Bowl | |
Winner | Tackling Cancer Tigers |
Runner-up | Bristol University Select |
Shield | |
Winner | ![]() |
Runner-up | ![]() |
← 2010 2012 → |
The 2011 Safari Sevens were the 16th annual edition of the Safari Sevens.
After 15 years at the RFUEA Ground and growing attendances annually, the Kenya Rugby Football Union decided to take the tournament to the Nyayo National Stadium for the first time. Nyayo is a football and athletics stadium built in 1983 to host the 1987 All-Africa Games and has a capacity of 30,000; the 2010 African Athletics Championships were also held here. It is the headquarters for the Kenya Football Federation and Athletics Kenya. The rationale for the move was to allow room for more spectators as part of the KRU's bid to have the tournament included in the IRB Sevens World Series by 2015; it was reported [1] that IRB observers were in the country to monitor the event.
There were some worries prior to the event about the move, the area is notorious for robbers who attack motorists and pedestrians and at least one murder has been recorded there two years ago. The Police put in place a security plan including road closures to ensure the tournament passed without incident. Parts of Langata Road and Aerodrome Road were closed to motorists apart from those bearing VIP stickers; parking and shuttle busses were also put in place for the fans between the stadium and Highway Secondary School, All Saints Primary School and Kenya Railways Sports Club. [1] Security fears were vindicated after a woman was raped leaving the tournament. [2] Other commentators have said that the area is no more dangerous than the surroundings of the RFUEA Ground and that the attack was partially a result of bad luck or poor judgement to decide to walk home rather than take a taxi or bus.
For the first time the tournament was held in early November, rather than the traditional June, in order to avoid clashes with other world class rugby events so that more prestigious teams could send sides to participate and thus further raise the prominence of the event in the world rugby calendar. The Rugby World Cup 2011 ended in October and the IRB Sevens World Series began two weeks later in late November. The hope is that the Safari Sevens will become a warm-up event to (and possibly even an integral part of) future IRB Sevens World Series. [3]
Standard tickets cost KSh.300/= (Friday) or KSh.400/= (Saturday and Sunday) per day (KSh.1,000/= for all three days - equal to £6.39 stg., €7,43 or US$10.25). VIP tickets were KSh.1,000/= (Friday) or KSh.2,000/= (Saturday and Sunday) per day, KSh.4,000/= for all three days - equal to £25.58 stg., €29,73 or US$41.00). [3]
A strong panel of match officials blending experienced regulars from previous editions of the Safaricom Sevens with up and coming match officials from the region and overseas referees with international experience. Hong Kong's Lee Wing Yi Gabriel became the first top female referee to officiate at the Safari Sevens (though Kenya's own Sarah Agola, who also officiated, was a veteran of six tournaments having made her officiating debut at the 2005 tournament). [4]
The 2011 tournament match officials
Name | Home Union | Experience |
---|
Hosts Kenya, Uganda and Bristol University from the United Kingdom are the only sides to have played in this annual event since its inception in 1996. [5]
The teams were as follows. [6]
Team | Notes |
---|---|
![]() | Tournament hosts and defending champions, have finished in the top ten every season of the IRB Sevens World Series since 2007–2008. Played for the first time under their new coach Mitch Ocholla in this tournament. |
![]() | |
![]() | Featured at every Safari Sevens since its inception, putting in creditable performances. They have a great rivalry with hosts Kenya in both the sevens and fifteens. |
Universitaire de Grenoble | An invitation team made up of players from the Université de Grenoble and FC Grenoble rugby teams. [7] Semi-finalists last year, they lost 0–22 to the Emerging Springboks. |
Team | Notes |
---|---|
Auckland Vikings | The representative team of Auckland, the 2011 New Zealand Provincial Sevens champions |
Bristol University Select | An invitation team based around Bristol University RFC players but also features others from the Bristol region, including Clifton RFC and the professional outfit Bristol. Have played in every Safari Sevens tournament since 1996. |
![]() | The Emerging Springboks are a national representative side of players who have never won a full South African cap. They made their debut at the Safari Sevens in 2003 (losing to Kenya in the final). They lost to Kenya again in 2004 before winning in 2006 and 2007 (beating Zimbabwe both times). |
Mwamba RFC | Kenya National Sevens Circuit Champions 2011. |
Team | Notes |
---|---|
![]() | The Under 21 National 7-a-side rugby team of Zimbabwe |
![]() | The 2009–10 IRB Sevens World Series champions included 2010 IRB Sevens World Player of the Year Mikaele Pesamino (fourth in the all-time leading try scorers on the IRB Sevens World Series chart) in their selection. |
![]() | Competed in several legs of the 2010–11 IRB Sevens World Series, they entered the Safari Sevens to hone their skills in the short version of the game. |
Tackling Cancer Tigers [8] | A team of amateur American rugby sevens all-stars, led by coach James Walker from Belmont Shore [9] (listed as Belmont Shore RFC in some media). A former Kenya Sevens international, Anthony Ongoro, joined them for this, their first trip to Nairobi. |
Team | Notes |
---|---|
Royal Welsh Warriors | A team drawn from soldiers of the Second Battalion of the Royal Welsh Regiment, a recently restructured regiment of the British Army |
Samurai Sevens | professional invitation side sponsored by Samurai Sportswear, was founded in 1996 by Terry Sands for the 25th Amsterdam Sevens. |
![]() | |
![]() | Frequent entrants of the competition, they have never won the title but have got to the main cup final on three occasions, 1996, 2006 and 2007. |
Teams slated to attend but later withdrew included: [3]
Team | Notes |
---|---|
British Army rugby sevens team | Replaced by the Royal Welsh Warriors |
False Bay RFC | False Bay, South Africa |
Les Bleus | Les Bleus Sevens is a non-profit organisation entirely independent of the FFR who also sponsor their own 7-a-side rugby team, Les Bleus, many of whom have gone on to play for the French National sevens side. see their website |
![]() | |
![]() | Cited security issues rather than a lack of funding for their decision to miss the tournament; Kenyan security forces had been engaged for three weeks in a military offensive inside neighboring Somalia after a series of terror attacks on Kenyan tourism targets. Mwamba RFC filled their berth. |
Results form the pool stages. [10]
|
|
|
|
|
|
The first tiebreaker is the head-to-head result between the tied teams, followed by difference in points scored during the tournament. Spain and Samoa tied on points and their head to head result; Samoa won Pool C by virtue of the fact they scored a total of 140 points to Spain's 76.
|
|
Results from the knockout stage. [11] [12]
Cup Quarter-finals | Cup Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||
![]() | 12 | ||||||||||
Auckland Vikings | 7 | ||||||||||
![]() | 12 | ||||||||||
Samurai Sevens | 29 | ||||||||||
Samurai Sevens | 17 | ||||||||||
![]() | 0 | ||||||||||
![]() | 31 | ||||||||||
Samurai Sevens | 12 | ||||||||||
![]() | 34 | ||||||||||
![]() | 5 | ||||||||||
![]() | 19 | ||||||||||
![]() | 10 | ||||||||||
![]() | 24 | ||||||||||
Universitaire de Grenoble | 14 |
Plate Semi-final | Plate Final | ||||||||
1 | Auckland Vikings | 19 | |||||||
4 | ![]() | 14 | |||||||
Auckland Vikings | 29 | ||||||||
![]() | 12 | ||||||||
3 | ![]() | 19 | |||||||
2 | Universitaire de Grenoble | 14 |
Bowl Quarter-finals | Bowl Semi-finals | Bowl Final | |||||||||
![]() | 0 | ||||||||||
Bristol University Select | 19 | ||||||||||
Bristol University Select | 26 | ||||||||||
Royal Welsh | 7 | ||||||||||
Royal Welsh | 7 | ||||||||||
![]() | 5 | ||||||||||
Bristol University Select | 14 | ||||||||||
Tiger Rugby | 17 | ||||||||||
Tiger Rugby | 52 | ||||||||||
![]() | 0 | ||||||||||
Tiger Rugby | 28 | ||||||||||
Mwamba RFC | 7 | ||||||||||
Mwamba RFC | 19 | ||||||||||
![]() | 5 |
Shield Semi-final | Shield Final | ||||||||
1 | ![]() | 12 | |||||||
4 | ![]() | 28 | |||||||
![]() | 31 | ||||||||
![]() | 0 | ||||||||
3 | ![]() | 21 | |||||||
2 | ![]() | 5 |
|
|
Women's Cup Final | ||||
1 | ![]() | 7 | ||
2 | ![]() | 5 |
Doreen Remour touched down for Kenya, which was converted by Irene Awino.
|
|
|
|
Veteran's Semi-final | Veteran's Final | ||||||||
1 | Quins Vets | 44 | |||||||
4 | Pwani (Coast) | 0 | |||||||
Quins Vets | 12 | ||||||||
Nondies Vets | 0 | ||||||||
3 | Rogue Buffaloes | 0 | |||||||
2 | Nondies Vets | 15 |
1. Central 2. Coast 3. Eastern 4. Nairobi | 5. North Eastern 6. Nyanza 7. Rift Valley 8. Western |
Tanzania made history by putting together a national representative under-19 side for the event. [16] Zimbabwe also sent a national representative side as they have done to several previous Safari Sevens tournaments. Uganda sent their school national champions Hana Mixed School. [17] [18]
All eight of the Kenya provinces were represented in the tournament.
|
|
|
|
Boy's Semi-final | Boy's Final | ||||||||
1 | Nyanza | 0 | |||||||
4 | Western | 22 | |||||||
Western | 15 | ||||||||
Hana Mixed School (Uganda) | 19 | ||||||||
3 | Hana Mixed School (Uganda) | 20 | |||||||
2 | Nairobi | 0 |
Boy's Plate-final | ||||
1 | Nyanza | 19 | ||
2 | Nairobi | 14 |
Boy's Bowl-final | ||||
1 | Rift Valley | 10 | ||
2 | Zimbabwe | 15 |
Boy's Shield-final | ||||
1 | Eastern | 5 | ||
2 | Central | 25 |
|
|
|
|
Girl's Semi-final | Girl's Final | ||||||||
1 | |||||||||
4 | |||||||||
Butere | |||||||||
Mukumu | |||||||||
3 | |||||||||
2 |
Girl's Plate-final | ||||
1 | ||||
2 |
Girl's Bowl-final | ||||
1 | ||||
2 |
Girl's Shield-final | ||||
1 | ||||
2 |
The Moi International Sports Centre is a multi-purpose stadium in Kasarani, Kenya. It was built in 1987 for the All-Africa Games held in Nairobi. The facilities include a 60,000-seat stadium with a running track and a pitch used for football and rugby union, a competition size swimming pool, an indoor arena and a 108-bed capacity hotel. Located at 1,612 metres above sea level, it is slightly above 1 mile in altitude.
The Dubai 7s is an annual rugby sevens and social event held at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai, UAE. Founded in 1970, the event is the longest running sports event in the Middle East.
Safaricom PLC is a listed Kenyan mobile network operator headquartered at Safaricom House in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the largest telecommunications provider in Kenya, and one of the most profitable companies in the East and Central Africa region. The company offers mobile telephony, mobile money transfer, consumer electronics, ecommerce, cloud computing, data, music streaming, and fibre optic services. It is most renowned as the home of M-PESA, a mobile banking SMS-based service.
The Safari Sevens is an annual rugby sevens tournament held in Nairobi, Kenya. The Safari Sevens is open to international representative sides, professional and amateur clubs, invitational teams, university and school teams.
The Kenya national rugby union team, commonly known as the Simbas, is the country's national team managed by the Kenya Rugby Union. The team plays in red, green, and black jerseys with black or white shorts. The Simbas represent Kenya in the Africa Cup and various other tournaments across the continent. They currently rank 34 in the World Rugby Rankings and fourth in Africa. Kenya is yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.
Rugby union in Kenya is a popular sport, in particular due to the success of the Kenya national rugby sevens team in the rugby sevens format, and tournaments such as the Safari Sevens, which has been growing yearly, and now includes numerous international teams.
The Tonga national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series. Tonga has participated in all but one of the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournaments.
The Portugal national rugby sevens team played for the first time in 1992, at the Catania Sevens, World Cup 1993 European Qualifier. The team plays in competitions such as the World Sevens Series, the European Sevens Grand Prix Series and the Rugby World Cup Sevens. Portugal has a record of eight European titles—in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011—although Portugal has not made the semifinals since 2012. Pedro Leal and Gonçalo Foro are two notable sevens players.
The Elgon Cup is contested between the rugby union teams of Kenya and Uganda. The men's and women's teams of these countries each compete annually for their respective cups on a Home-and-Away basis. The competition and the cups are named after Mount Elgon, a mountain on the border of the two countries.
Rugby union in Tanzania is a minor but growing sport.
Established in 1950, the East Africa rugby union team is a multi-national rugby union team drawing players from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, though the vast majority of these came from Kenya which has traditionally been the strongest rugby playing nation in the region. The team has played against incoming international, representative and club touring sides and it conducted seven tours between 1954 and 1982.
The RFUEA Ground is a rugby union stadium located on the Ngong Road in Nairobi, Kenya. It was purpose built to be the home of the national team and to serve as the headquarters of the Rugby Football Union of Kenya (RFUK).[a] Coincidentally, the RFUEA ground has another parallel with Twickenham Stadium in the United Kingdom in that it also serves as the home ground for the Kenya Harlequin Football Club, just as their sister club the London Harlequins once played at Twickenham.
The Rugby Football Union of East Africa (RFUEA) is an umbrella union for the Kenya Rugby Football Union, Tanzania Rugby Football Union and Uganda Rugby Football Union. It owes its existence to the fact that, prior to independence, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda were either a protectorate or mandate of the British Empire. It now has little to do with the direct administration of the modern game but it continues to exist in order to promote and support the game in the three countries, to facilitate club competition between the three unions and to administer the RFUEA Ground and the East Africa rugby union team.
The Bamburi Super Series was an East African Rugby union competition with eight teams in total, five teams from Kenya two from Uganda and one from Tanzania (Twigas) that is currently defunct. It is closely based on the Super Rugby competition in the southern hemisphere. Games take place at the RFUEA Ground in Nairobi (Kenya), Friedkin Recreation Centre in Arusha (Tanzania) and the Kyadondo Grounds, Kampala (Uganda). Rhinos have won the most titles with four wins, and are the only team to have defended a title when they beat the Cheetahs 25–5 in the 2010 final.
Homeboyz Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Nairobi, Kenya, that competes in the Kenya Cup, Eric Shirley Shield, Enterprise Cup and Mwamba Cup. Formed in 2009, Homeboyz also has a women's team that competes in the Kenya Rugby Football Union women's league every year. Both the men's and women's teams also compete in the Kenya National Sevens Circuit that happens annually. Their main home ground is Jamhuri Park.
The Philippines national rugby sevens team is a minor national sevens side. The 2012 Hong Kong Sevens was their first appearance in an IRB Sevens World Series. They were 1 of 4 Asian teams that qualified through regional tournaments to be included in the 2012 Hong Kong Sevens, it is also a qualifying tournament for inclusion in the 2012–13 IRB Sevens World Series. After the Philippines won third place against South Korea in the 2012 Singapore Sevens Series, they gained qualification to the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow. The Philippines finished third at the 2018 Asia Rugby Sevens Series, and qualified to the 2019 Hong Kong Sevens World Series qualifier. At the tournament, the team defeated Zimbabwe and advanced to quarter-finals, where they lost to Asian rival Hong Kong.
The 2012 Safari Sevens are the 17th annual edition of the Safari Sevens.
The 2005 Dubai Sevens was an international rugby sevens tournament that took place at the Dubai Exiles Rugby Ground on 1 and 2 December 2005. It was the 18th edition of the Dubai Sevens and was the first tournament of the 2005–06 World Sevens Series. Sixteen teams competed in the tournament and was separated into four groups of four with the top two teams from each group qualifying to the cup tournament.
Kisumu Rugby Football Club is a Kenyan rugby union club based in Kisumu. Also known as Lakeside RFC, for the 2015–16 season the club competes in the Nationwide League.
Philip Wokorach is a Ugandan rugby union player who plays as a utility back for AS Bédarrides as well as playing sevens for Racing 92. He also runs the PW15 Foundation.