This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
Current season, competition or edition: 2015 Kenya National Sevens Circuit | |
Sport | Rugby union |
---|---|
Founded | 1998 |
First season | 1999 |
Country | Kenya |
Most recent champion(s) | Kenya Commercial Bank RFC 2014 |
Sponsor(s) | Western Union |
First played in 1999, the Kenya National Sevens Circuit is an annual series of rugby sevens tournaments run by the Kenya Rugby Union in conjunction with host clubs featuring teams from across the country. Teams compete for the National Sevens Circuit title by accumulating points based on their finishing position in each tournament. The season’s circuit currently comprises 6 tournaments in 6 cities and towns across Kenya.
After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Sevens Circuit will resume in May 2022. [1]
20/21 July – Kakamega Sevens, Bull Ring Kakamega
27/28 July – Kabeberi Sevens, RFUEA Ground, Nairobi
3/4 August – BREAK
10/11 August – Dala Sevens, Mamboleo Showground, Kisumu
17/18 August – Prinsloo Sevens, Nakuru Athletic Club, Nakuru
24/25 August – BREAK
31 August/1 September – Christie Sevens, RFUEA Ground, Nairobi
7/8 September – Driftwood Sevens, Mombasa Sports Club, Mombasa
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 |
Year | Winners | ||
---|---|---|---|
1937 | Nondescripts RFC | ||
1938 | Nondescripts RFC | ||
1939 | Nondescripts RFC | ||
1940-46 | No tournaments during World War II | ||
1947 | Nondescripts RFC | ||
1948 | Nondescripts RFC | ||
1949 | Ruiru RFC (Ruiru) | ||
1950 | Nondescripts RFC | ||
1951 | Nondescripts RFC | ||
1952 | Mombasa RFC | ||
1953 | Mombasa RFC | ||
1954 | Nondescripts RFC | ||
1955 | Londiani RFC (Londiani) | ||
1956 | Kenya Harlequin F.C. | ||
1957 | Kenya Police RFC | ||
1958 | Nakuru RFC | ||
1959 | 1st Battalion, The Cameronians | ||
1960 | Impala RFC | ||
1961 | |||
1962 | |||
1963 |
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. [2]
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. [2]
Year | Winners | ||
---|---|---|---|
1949 | not known | ||
1950 | not known | ||
1951 | Nakuru RFC | ||
1952 | Nondescripts RFC | ||
1953 | Kenya Harlequin F.C. | ||
1954 | not known | ||
1955 | Old Cambrians (Impala) RFC | ||
1956 | Nyeri Police (Nyeri) | ||
1957 | Impala RFC | ||
1958 | Nakuru RFC | ||
1959 | Nakuru RFC | ||
1960 | Impala RFC | ||
1961 | Kenya Harlequin F.C. | ||
1962 | |||
1963 |
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. [2]
Year | Winners | ||
---|---|---|---|
1950 | Uganda Police | ||
1951 | Mengo Commercials | ||
1952 | Old Cambrians (Impala) RFC | ||
1953 | Jinja Stallions | ||
1954 | Jinja 'A' | ||
1955 | Uganda Police | ||
1956 | Kampala RFC | ||
1957 | Kenya Police RFC | ||
1958 | Kenya Police RFC | ||
1959 | Kampala RFC | ||
1960 | |||
1961 |
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. [2]
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. [2]
Year | Winners |
---|---|
1952 | Kitale RFC |
1953 | Combined Eldoret RFC & Kitale RFC team |
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. [2]
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. [2]
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 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.
Nakuru Rugby Football Club also known as 'Wanyore' is a Kenyan rugby club based in Nakuru. It has played for several years in the Kenya Cup and Eric Shirley Shield leagues run by the Kenya Rugby Football Union. Nakuru RFC operates and trains at the Nakuru Athletic Club Grounds in Nakuru. They play at the 2,000-capacity Nakuru Stadium.
Cricket is a popular sport in Kenya. Kenya has competed in the Cricket World Cup since 1996. They upset some of the world's best teams and reached semi-finals of the 2003 tournament. They also won the inaugural World Cricket League Division 1 hosted in Nairobi and participated in the World T20. Their most successful player is Steve Tikolo, who captained the team to the semi-finals of the 2003 Cricket World Cup
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.
Impala Saracens is a Kenyan rugby club based at the Impala Club. The club competes in the Kenya Cup as well as the Enterprise Cup. The club is based and trains at their ground on Ngong Road, adjacent to the RFUEA Ground, and also has an association football division.
Kenya Harlequin Football Club, is a Kenyan rugby union club that competes in the Kenya Cup, the top level of Kenyan rugby. The club motto "Nunquam Dormio" is Latin, meaning I never sleep.
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.
KCB Rugby Club is a rugby union team based in Nairobi, Kenya. It was formed in 1989 after the disbanding of Kenya Breweries RFC when their main sponsor, Kenya Breweries, pulled out. That year they joined the Kenya Cup. Their first match was against Impala RFC, whom they beat 96–6. In 1994 the team was relegated to the Eric Shirley Shield, however by 1996 they had regained their position in Kenya's top rugby league. The club now has a 2nd XV team which has performed well, winning the Mwamba Cup, and Eric Shirley Shield several times.
The Enterprise Cup is an annual rugby union competition in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, though the competition frequently has the appearance of being an all-Kenyan affair as the majority of rugby clubs in the African Great Lakes region are based in this one country and frequently clubs in Tanzania and Uganda are unable to take part due to financial constraints. The original cup was donated by sailors from HMS Enterprise, who had toured British East Africa in 1928. The only years in which the competition has not been played is between 1940–1946 due to World War II and in 1987 because an international rugby competition was held on RFUEA Ground as part of the All Africa Games.
Rugby union in East Africa is almost entirely an amateur sport. It has been played in the three East African nations for more than a century; the first recorded match taking place in 1909, though it was almost certainly being played for several years prior to this. There are many club and school teams, the oldest of which were established in Colonial times.
Sub-counties, also known as Districts, are the decentralised units through which government of Kenya provides functions and services. At national level, sub-counties take a more administrative function like security, statistical purposes, provision of government services, etc. Even though the sub-counties are divisions of counties, powers to create new national sub-counties lies with the national government. As of 2023, there are 314 sub-counties, compared to 290 constituencies. A deputy county commissioner is appointed by the state to lead each sub-county. The sub-counties are further divided into divisions, locations and sub-locations.
Kilunda Rugby Football Club, also known as Kilunda or Masaku RFC, is a Kenyan rugby union club based in Machakos. For the 2015-16 season the club competes in the Nairobi region of the Nationwide League.
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.
The Nationwide League is a domestic Kenyan rugby union competition. Full members of the Kenya Rugby Union that do not participate in the top tier Kenya Cup are entitled to participate in the league. It operates in a system of promotion and relegation with the Kenya Cup. Matches are played on Saturday afternoons, usually before fixtures in the Kenya Cup.