It is all systems go as the much anticipated return of the National Rugbhy Sevens Circuit is set for this May 2022 after a two-year hiatus that was occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the Kenya Rugby Union calendar of events, the historic Kabeberi Sevens will kick off the circuit on May 21-22, 2022 at the RFUEA Grounds.
“Unleash the legend! Come roar at #Kabeberi7s and shake the RFUEA Grounds once again! Time to relive the memories and the good times as we welcome sevens rugby back!,” announced the organisers of the circuit Mwamba RFC on their official twitter handle.
The George Mwangi Kabeberi Memorial Sevens, which is popularly known as the Kabeberi Sevens is a sevens tournament that is part of the six KRU Rugby sevebs circuit played every year and was first played in 1986 to commemorate the passing away of the charismatic George Mwangi Kabeberi, one of the founding members of the Mwamba RFC.
Over the years, the significance of the Kabeberi sevens tournament has been expanded to honour departed club members, including Leeroy Okara, Absalom “Bimbo” Mutere, Abedeen Shikoyi, and Jimmy Owino and lately Victor Wayodi among others.
The Kabeberi Sevens is played as part of the Kenya National Sevens Series, and is one of only two events of that series to be played in Nairobi. For this reason, the Kabeberi Sevens has traditionally been the best-attended tournament in the series, with many Nairobi residents coming to the Kabeberi to watch Kenya’s world-famous Rugby Sevens stars.
Due to this, the numbers attending the Kabeberi Sevens have increased steadily over the years with the 2013 and 2014 events attracting over 10,000 spectators throughout the weekend.
The 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 circuit was started in 1999.
Like in previous years, the circuit will have the traditional six rounds starting with the opening two legs of the Kabeberi and Christie Sevens before heading to Kakamega, Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru for the subsequent legs.
KCB won the last circuit in 2019 claiming victories in the Driftwood, Kakamega, Dala, and Christie Sevens tournaments. Mwamba tied with Homeboyz in second place as Nakuru and Impala completed the top five positions.
