The Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) will use the six-legged SportPesa National Rugby 7s Circuit, which kicks off with the Driftwood 7s Challenge in Mombasa on Saturday, to select the men’s and women’s national teams, Shujaa and Lionesses, to return the country to the prestigious World Rugby Sevens HSBC Series.
The federation has stated that only players who will grace this year’s National 7s Circuit will be liable for selection to feature for the country internationally.
“If you want to play for Shujaa and Lionesses, kindly be ready to take part in the National 7s Circuit,” KRU Director of Rugby, Paul Odera, stated in Nairobi.
Odera was speaking at a function where gaming firm SportPesa came on board to support the 2025 National 7s Circuit to a tune of Sh15 Million.
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“The only players who will be exempted are those injured, have a contract with clubs outside the country and those who are on international assignments.
“The call-up to the national teams will be based on merit. It will be done by a credible panel that will, for the first time, compile data in the selection process.
“As a federation, we believe in the selectors. We know they are credible, competent, and have the ability to execute the task that they have been mandated to do,” Odera highlighted.
KRU Chairperson, Harriet Okatch, said the expected thrilling series will be the initial pathway to take Kenya back to international limelight, after a rosy season that saw Shujaa drop from the World Rugby Sevens Series.
“We are confident that Shujaa and Lionesses will rise to the global arena next season. Currently, Shujaa are ranked second after South Africa while Lionesses are top of the continent. There is hope,” stated Okatch while thanking SportPesa and East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL) for coming on board to inject support into this year’s National 7s Circuit.
Meanwhile, defending champions Kenya Harlequins have pledged to guard the National 7s Circuit title with all their might and power, as they kick off their title campaign in the Driftwood 7s set for Mombasa this weekend.
Harlequins are in Pool A alongside Masinde Muliro University, Kenyatta University, Blak Blad and Mwamba.
“We are ready to defend the series, very eager and willing to guard the crown. We will ensure that the cup remains at home,” Kenya Harlequins Representative, Nekesa Were, told Standard Sports.
“I want to urge the fans to rally behind the women’s fixtures in the circuit, let them turn up in large numbers in all the series. I’m also urging all players to put their best leg forward to thrill fans and make the series a showstopper,” Nekesa stated.
While giving the breakdown of their Sh 15 Million sponsorship for the circuit, SportPesa Public Relations and Advertising Manager Willis Ojwang indicated that Sh 9 Million will go towards the host clubs and support of live streams in the legs.
“Sh2.5 Million will be used for prize money. We will also have warm-up kits for the participating clubs,” Ojwang highlighted.
“We are glad to be part of this circuit for the third year running. We are happy to be part of this rugby ecosystem. We are confident the series will expose our players to the rest of the world, through the live streaming which we have included in this year’s edition,” said Ojwang.
Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL) Head of Mainstream Beer, Christine Kariuki, indicated that they too have been honoured to be part of the rugby circuit that is ready to entertain fans from across the country.
“On our side, we have given the host clubs Sh18 million. Each hosting club will receive Sh 3 million in the process,” Kariuki underlined.
In the Division One category of each leg, winners will walk home Sh100,000 richer. Runners up will get Sh50,000 while Sh25,000 will be bagged by third place finishers.
In Division Two of each leg, only the winner will go home Sh50,000 richer. The ladies category will see the winners bag Sh70,000 and runners up Sh30,000.
The Most Valuable Player of each leg will head home with Sh10,000. Overall winner of the six-legged circuit will get Sh 550,000, runners up Sh300, 000 and third place Sh 150,000.