Shame as Nyayo Stadium floodlight failure plunges Safari 7s into darkness
Reading Time: 2min | Fri. 10.10.25. | 20:41
By the time of writing, play had yet to resume, with officials still assessing whether the remaining fixtures would continue under the uncertain lighting situation
The opening day of the 2025 Safari 7s at Nyayo National Stadium was briefly thrown into confusion after a floodlight failure momentarily plunged the venue into darkness on Friday evening.
The tournament, which kicked off at 4:00 p.m., was set to run until 7:00 p.m., followed by the Legends match later in the evening.
However, just after the Shogun vs KCB Rugby match, that ended around 6:40 p.m., dusk crept in, and the outage occurred.
The floodlights, expected to illuminate the arena, flickered to life briefly before going off again, halting the action moments before Uganda and Nyati were due to face off.
By the time of writing, play had yet to resume, with officials still assessing whether the remaining fixtures would continue under the uncertain lighting situation.
Many argued that it would only be right for the remaining teams to also play their opening fixtures to ensure competitive balance heading to the second day.
The incident adds to Nyayo Stadium’s growing list of floodlight woes, with similar failures witnessed during previous evening fixtures, prompting calls for urgent maintenance and upgrades to avoid future disruptions in high-profile tournaments.
Before the blackout drama, rugby fans had been treated to thrilling matches as Kenya’s Morans, Shogun, and Zimbabwe remained unbeaten on the opening day of the 27th edition of the iconic tournament.
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The Morans kicked off their campaign with a commanding 24–0 win over ReUnion.
After a tight opening half, the breakthrough came late before a successful conversion made it 7–0 at the break.
In the second half, debutants stepped up with impressive tries, extending the lead to 14–0 and later 19–0 before sealing the victory with a final converted try.
Zimbabwe, on their part, looked sharp as they cruised past newcomers Apache with a 33–17 win, while the National 7s Circuit champions KCB fell narrowly to last year’s finalists Shogun, 17–14, in a heated encounter.
In the women’s category, the Kenya Lionesses restored national pride with a dominant 34–7 win over Tunisia as the Kenya Cubs had earlier lost 32–5 to Shogun Ladies.
The Lionesses displayed superior pace and teamwork, scoring six tries; four of them unconverted before Tunisia managed a late consolation.
Elsewhere, Uganda edged Belgium 12–10 in a tense duel that kept fans on the edge of their seats, while Costa Blanca defeated Mwamba Select 29–0.
Day One Results
Men’s Round 1
- Morans 24–0 ReUnion
- Shogun 17–14 KCB
- Zimbabwe 33–17 Apache
Women’s Round 1
- Kenya Cubs 5–32 Shogun Ladies
- Uganda 12–10 Belgium
- Kenya Lionesses 34–7 Tunisia
- Mwamba Select 0–29 Costa Blanca
