Kenya Rugby Union targets increased tournaments to build national teams

Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) director of national squads Humphrey Kayange has promised exciting times ahead for players and fans alike as they aim at diversifying playing fields by hosting tournaments in various parts of the country.

Speaking to Mozzart Sport during the Tisap 7s played at the Eldoret Sports Club over the weekend, the former Kenya 7s skipper noted that the initiative was also aimed at discovering raw talents and giving them a platform for growth and development.

The National 7s Circuit was returning to Eldoret for the first time since 2018 when Sepetuka 7s was held. It was replacing Kakamega 7s which was hosted by hometown neighbours Kabras RFC and Western Bulls for two years.

“We are still looking at getting one more tournament in the Central or Eastern parts of Kenya so that we cover the sport across the country so that we see how many clubs are playing rugby and how much talent we can have to feed into the national breed of 7s and 15s,” he offered.

The former Kenya 7s captain pointed out that the plan was not without its challenges, which included popularising rugby events to draw in more local fans.

“Growing the game comes with taking a tournament to a new venue, and one of the challenges will be trying to attract as much support which is something that we have learnt over time. It takes a year or two for people to buy the idea,” he offered.

The director emphasised on the importance of forward-thinking when it comes to rugby development. He insisted on seamless continuity and transition where retiring or leaving players would be replaced with young, competitive blood.

This year alone, Shujaa will be looking to fill the void of key players like Alvine Buffa who missed the opening legs of the 2022/23 World Rugby 7s series. The retirement of senior players like Collins Injera and Willy Ambaka was a major setback for the side. It was difficult to replace such individuals.

“Development of the 7s version of the sport is key for us. That means taking newer, younger, players and talents from new places. In terms of the series, we are using this time to sort out our player pools since some of our players retired at once and left a gap. We are developing player pools so that when players leave the set up, others come in and replace them,” Kayange offered.

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Kayange further praised the rugby enthusiasts from Nairobi for turning up, but insisted that the magic of the game came alive when local fans cheered on their home team’s performance. He also promised a bigger and better 2024 edition of Tisap 7s.

“But you see the numbers that have come in from Nairobi for the Division I and Division II category and the support is there from everybody else, but we really want the home crowd to come and enjoy local rugby. I know Eldoret is a fully athletics town. Next year we will come here, see how we will do the preparations and marketing early around town, and invite schools, universities, and the few rugby clubs that are around town to support this tournament,” he said.

Kayange was in the Kenya 7s team that won the World Rugby Singapore 7s leg in 2016 under the late coach Benjamin Ayimba. He was also part of the team that saw Mwamba lift the National 7s circuit in 2011 and Enterprise Cup in 2013 among other titles.

The current National Olympic Committee of Kenya's athletes representative recently made history as the first Kenyan to be inducted into the World Rugby Hall of fame.

Kayange is a veteran when it comes to sports administration. He served as the chairman of the NOC Athletes Commission for four years before serving as an executive board member of the Kenya Academy of Sports for three years.

He also delivered services in his previous role as a Rugby Afrique Committee member, member of the WADA foundation board in 2021, and member of the WADA executive committee among other accolades.