KENYA FACE SOUTH AFRICA IN ADELAIDE
February 26, 2007
The Tusker Sports sponsored Kenya Rugby Team has landed a tricky draw in the Adelaide Sevens which is the sixth tournament of the International Rugby Board Sevens World Series. The tournament will be played on April 7 and 8 at the Adelaide Oval.
Drawn in Pool B, Kenya is seeded 10th and will begin against South Africa before playing France and Japan in this new venue which has replaced Singapore .
Felix Ochieng, the Tusker Sports national seven-a-side rugby assistant coach said the pool is competitive but since the benchmark has been raised to reaching the semi-final of the main cup, there was no option but to win all the matches on the opening day. “I believe, this is possible and Kenya has proved her case severally. We have come close to beating South Africa and Adelaide could be the stage to do this,” he added.
Against France , Ochieng feels confident that the ice has been broken and all depends on the approach. “We are not going to underrate any team. Other teams also know what Kenya is capable of,” he explained. Japan presents another tough challenge for Kenya . “They are a good team,” is all the assistant coach could comment.
There are some interesting pairings with third seeds New Zealand and Australia drawn in Pool C. This will be the last match on the opening day at the Adelaide Oval.
Currently, Fiji and New Zealand lead the standings with South Africa , Samoa and England within range. All these will change after the fifth leg in Hong Kong from March 30 to April 1. Four different teams have won the opening four tournaments in Dubai ( South Africa ), George ( New Zealand ), Samoa ( Wellington ) and Fiji ( San Diego ).
Fiji heads the seedings and top the group, which also promises physical battles against Canada and Tonga . South Africa head Pool B where France , Kenya and Japan lie in wait, while third seeds New Zealand face Australia , a resurgent Wales and Hong Kong in Pool C. The impressive Samoans, who won a first ever Cup success in Wellington , head pool D and will play opening day matches against Argentina , Scotland and Portugal .
“The IRB is delighted that Australia is once again hosting a Sevens event and I’m sure that the transformation of the famous Adelaide Oval cricket ground into a rugby pitch will prove every bit as successful as San Diego’s Petco Park baseball ground,” said IRB Tournament Operations Manager Beth Coalter.
“The Australian people are famous for getting behind the country’s sporting events and I’m sure that this will be no exception with the guaranteed party atmosphere and all-action nature of Sevens,” Coalter added.
The initial take-up of tickets for the Adelaide Sevens is encouraging and organisers hope that, in time, the event can emulate the NZI Sevens in Wellington , where tickets sell out in under an hour. Instead, at this stage the South Australian Rugby Union is inviting the thousands of fans who missed out on coveted Wellington tickets to turn their sights to Adelaide .
Draw
Pool A: Fiji , England , Canada and Tonga ; Pool B: South Africa , France , Kenya and Japan ; Pool C: New Zealand , Australia , Wales and Hong Kong; Pool D: Samoa , Argentina , Scotland and Portugal .
Order of play
Samoa v Scotland, Argentina v Portugal, Fiji v Canada, England v Tonga, South Africa v Kenya, France v Japan, New Zealand v Wales, Australia v Hong Kong, Samoa v Portugal, Argentina v Scotland, Fiji v Tonga, England v Canada, South Africa v Japan, France v Kenya, Australia v Wales, New Zealand v Hong Kong, Scotland v Portugal, Canada v Tonga, Kenya v Japan, Wales v Hong Kong, Samoa v Argentina, Fiji v England, South Africa v France, New Zealand v Australia.
Additional reporting by irbsevens.com
Released by KRFU Media and Communications communications@kenyarfu.com