Thursday, June 25, 2009
Kenyan rugby and Safari Sevens tournament growing in popularity
With the sensational Collins Injera leading the way as top try scorer, Kenya have gone from being a minnow of the game, to finishing sixth on the IRB Sevens circuit for the season.
Together with captain Humphrey Kayange, Injera was nominated for IRB Sevens Player of the Year, the first time Kenya has been represented on the list in the tournaments 10 year history.
In Nairobi this past weekend, a crowd of 10 000 gathered to watch their heroes in action as they took on invitational sides that represented twelve different nations.
Kenya lifted the trophy for the second year in a row after they beat South Africas second string Sevens side, the Emerging Springboks, 40-19 in the final.
With the tournament's growth in popularity, and the sport of rugby reaching new fans, there is now talk of adding Nairobi to the IRB Sevens Circuit.
The Safari Sevens has been running for 14 years now, and while it was originally a development tournament, its now served that purpose and is ready to welcome the bigger sides in world rugby. This would have a great effect for the sport, as well as the local population.
With the sport of Sevens on the rise globally and fans flocking to exotic destinations to follow their sides in action, surely the Kenyan Safari Sevens needs to be looked at as a permanent IRB series fixture?
Who could deny the appeal of travelling to Nairobi for a weekend of sun, party atmosphere, and above all, top quality Sevens rugby. Mark it down in your calenders for next year.
Time: 02:41
Posted at 8:52 am | 20 comments
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Viewing 20 comments
Hendrick June 25, 2009 9:30 am
Good Stuff man. I'm happy to see the game growing globally.
opfazonk June 25, 2009 9:51 am
i totally agree to what hendrick said!
i hope the olympic committee will name 7s as a new olympic discipline.
because the apsect of olympic "minnow" countries like argenitna, portugal, kenya, namibia, ireland, wales and many many more being rugby top tiers combined with the olympic big-players like the usa, germany, russia etc (who are concidered as rugby minnows) also joining the list of 7s nations would really spice up the olympics :)
i hope the olympic committee will name 7s as a new olympic discipline.
because the apsect of olympic "minnow" countries like argenitna, portugal, kenya, namibia, ireland, wales and many many more being rugby top tiers combined with the olympic big-players like the usa, germany, russia etc (who are concidered as rugby minnows) also joining the list of 7s nations would really spice up the olympics :)
creggs08 June 25, 2009 11:03 am
great to see rugby growing big globally!
hope that it gets olymipcs because i really do hate long distance swimming:)
hope that it gets olymipcs because i really do hate long distance swimming:)
Tanqueray June 25, 2009 11:22 am
Loving their dance at the end (2:28) move over Haka. The Kenyans are here!!
Anonymous June 25, 2009 12:57 pm
"People in Kenya thought rugby was about WOMEN & BEER !!!!!!!!!!
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHALOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHALOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Anonymous June 25, 2009 1:54 pm
Hey if it did get in the Olympics, wouldn't Wales, Scotland, Ireland, England and the Northern Irish have to compete as Great Britain?
They'd be a strong team I guess.
They'd be a strong team I guess.
jig June 25, 2009 2:06 pm
Ireland would be on their own -the other nations would be the Great Britain team.
Only issue is the irish national team represents northern ireland as well who the great britain team have "dibs" on so who gets the players?
the likes of bowe and ferris would be affected
Only issue is the irish national team represents northern ireland as well who the great britain team have "dibs" on so who gets the players?
the likes of bowe and ferris would be affected
Bobby Nations June 25, 2009 3:13 pm
"This video not available in your country due to copyright restrictions"
Meh. Too bad we can't see it here in the USA.
Meh. Too bad we can't see it here in the USA.
jackohos June 25, 2009 4:17 pm
It's an interesting one with Bowe. He went to school in Northern Ireland and played for Ulster but I assume he's got an Irish passport as he's from Monaghan...
Would be interesting to see whether the GB nations would have to play together - Wales are reigning World Sevens Champions! - or if they'd do as the GB Football team has done for the 2012 Olympics and be solely England.
Would be interesting to see whether the GB nations would have to play together - Wales are reigning World Sevens Champions! - or if they'd do as the GB Football team has done for the 2012 Olympics and be solely England.
Sander June 25, 2009 4:29 pm
Great to see the game thriving in Kenya! And more fantastic to see that the Kenyans still play for the love of the game and nothing more!
There ought to be two simple rulings; make Kenya an official tournament on the IRB Sevens stage and for ****'s sake, get rugby in the Olympics, where it belongs!
There ought to be two simple rulings; make Kenya an official tournament on the IRB Sevens stage and for ****'s sake, get rugby in the Olympics, where it belongs!
Stubby June 25, 2009 6:56 pm
Agreed. The Sevens belong in the Olympics. More so than the damned judged sports like gymnastics or diving or synchronized swimming. Damned judges are too often corrupt for my liking. Just look at the joke that is figure skating.
John June 25, 2009 7:14 pm
Wow, when will people realise that Ireland is not part of Britain? You know, the US is not part of the British empire anymore either. Nor is Australia or New Zealand. Open a book fella! :)
Bearded Clam June 25, 2009 10:35 pm
Love the African passion! Get 7s into the Olympics!
GRR! June 26, 2009 10:45 am
Bobby Nations said..."This video not available in your country due to copyright restrictions" Meh. Too bad we can't see it here in the USA.
Nor in Australia!! Are the people in charge of these things interested in spreading the news about the rugby world or not? What the hell harm could it do to anybody's pocket (or whatever the problem is) if a vid like this is seen by anybody who's interested in what's emerging at the fringes of international rugby? GRRR!!
Nor in Australia!! Are the people in charge of these things interested in spreading the news about the rugby world or not? What the hell harm could it do to anybody's pocket (or whatever the problem is) if a vid like this is seen by anybody who's interested in what's emerging at the fringes of international rugby? GRRR!!
Anonymous June 26, 2009 4:54 pm
nothing can inspire as much as rugby can.
WAKE UP OLYMPIC COMMITTEE ? :D
WAKE UP OLYMPIC COMMITTEE ? :D
Anonymous June 26, 2009 5:10 pm
For those of us Kenyan American ruggers who want to see the video:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/sports/2009/06/24/mckenzie.kenya.safari.rugby.cnn?iref=videosearch
Rugby in Kenya is growing and people get really into it. The Floodlit 15s in Nairobi is another amazing tourney they put on.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/sports/2009/06/24/mckenzie.kenya.safari.rugby.cnn?iref=videosearch
Rugby in Kenya is growing and people get really into it. The Floodlit 15s in Nairobi is another amazing tourney they put on.
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