IMPALA RETURN FROM SINGAPORE 7’s
November 8, 2006
Impala returned from the 59th Singapore Cricket Club seven-a-side tournament with a promise to scale the heights next time. Team manager Willy Ombisi admitted this was a young team, which did well against some of the big guns. Impala reached the first round of the main cup losing 7-36 to British Army UK . In the Plate quarter finals, Impala edged past a physical PNG Rookies 19-17 before losing 14-19 to Australia ’s Randwick , winners in 1993 in sudden death. Ombisi explained the tournament was getting much tougher. “It is getting very competitive. We did not have seven players from last year and fielded a development side, which still did well. The presence of national coach Benjamin Ayimba and Oscar Osir had a stabilizing effect,” he explained.
The side was sponsored by Standard Chartered Singapore who supplied them with two sets of branded kit. Ombisi said the bank was interested in supporting some community-based development projects in Kenya and a top official maybe in the country in January. Some of the players who measured up to the challenge were new call ups to the national team Nato Simiyu, Naphtaly Bondo and Daniel Ng’ong’a. “They improved with every match in a tournament which had the Japan and USA national teams which will be going for the Asian Games and the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens,” added Ombisi.
Main Cup first round: Davetalevu 15 Japan Samurais 12, USA Eagles 17 Blue Bulls Barbarians 14, British Army Germany 26 Palmyra 5, Hong Kong Dragons 43 Cobra 0, Durban Harlequins 43 Tri Line Academy 0, Borneo Eagles 33 Randwick 14, Ponsonby 33 PNG Rookies 5, Impala 7 British Army UK 36; Quarter finals: Davetalevu 40 USA Eagles 10, British Army Germany 12 Hong Kong Dragons 17, Durban Harlequins 22 Borneo eagles 0, Ponsonby 36 British Army UK 17; Semi-finals: Davetalevu 17 Hong Kong Dragons 7 Durban Harlequins 10 Ponsonby 21; Final: Davetalevu 17 Ponsonby 19.
Plate quarter finals
Japan Samurais 17 Blue Bulls Barbarians 12, Palmyra 43 Cobra 0, Tri Line Academy 0 Randwick 48, PNG Rookies 17 Impala 19.
Semi-finals: Japan Samurais 12 Palmyra 28, Randwick 19 Impala 14; Final: Palmyra 26 Randwick 21.
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