Menengai Oilers hoping to turn the tides in Driftwood 7s

National 7s Circuit defending champions Menengai Oilers are hoping to better their Dala 7s performance when they travel to Mombasa Sports Club from July 8-9 for Driftwood 7s.

Oilers were off to sluggish starts in the concluded Dala 7s where they failed to top the pool after a 12-7 loss to neighbors Nakuru RFC.

Oilers had defeated Catholic Monks (19-7) before defeating Nondies 22-7.

During the final day, a 14-12 win over KCB Rugby in the quarterfinals and an eventual 12-5 loss to Mwamba in the fifth-place playoff saw them finish sixth.

This performance, however, did not represent Gibson Weru's outfit entirely.

Despite the loss, the Oilers showcased their smooth and structured play, which is likely to help them replicate their previous season's performance.

The Nakuru-based team was also enjoying the services of Kenyan Internationals John Okoth, Beldad Ogeta, and Dennis Abukuse who led from the front, providing a platform for their sleek backs; the likes of Davis Nyaundi and Steve Arunga to showcase pure talent.

It is okay to say that the Oilers are still title contenders regardless of the undesirable starts.

According to coach Weru, the sixth-place finish on the shores of Lake Victoria was disappointing. The tactician noted that their short-term Driftwood 7s goal was to navigate out of their pool into the playoffs.

"Dala 7s was very disappointing, we did not perform as we had anticipated. We have to improve because our error rate was quite high and that did not help our course. We have put a lot of emphasis on doing the basics well which we failed to do in Kisumu. Our short term goal is to navigate out of our pool first and into the playoffs," Gibu told Mozzart Sport.

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In order to better their sluggish Dala 7s performance, the tactician noted that the boys have been focusing on the basics; the principles of attack and defense.

"The Principles of Attack and defense. To keep the ball longer and apply pressure and score. Our discipline at the breakdown let us down quite a bit which kept us scrambling. It’s tough to defend on scrabbled defense," he explained.

Oilers have been placed in a tricky pool B that sees them lock horns with students; Strathmore Leos, Catholic Monks, Masinde Muliro.

Gibu noted that he was anticipating a worthy competition since all the teams were in fine form.

"All the teams that finished ahead of us are quite worthy and the ones behind us are good as well. This circuit will be very competitive," he offered.

The well-oiled Oilers will be in Mombasa keen to stage a repeat of the 2022 Dala 7s where they reached the finals stage but were edged 21-7 by Mwamba RFC at the Mombasa Sports Club.