Heartbroken Kabras Sugar shift focus to Kenya Cup after tasteless National Sevens Circuit

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RUGBY: Heartbroken Kabras Sugar shift focus to Kenya Cup after tasteless National Sevens Circuit

Joel Omotto 10:00 - 12.09.2023

Kabras Sugar are keen to make it three straight Kenya Cup crowns after throwing away their advantage to lose the sevens title to KCB

Kabras Sugar coach Felix Ayange has shifted his focus to retaining their Kenya Cup crown after missing out on the National Sevens Circuit.

Kabras headed into the season-ending Kabeberi Sevens with 92 points, one ahead of KCB, and needed to finish ahead of the bankers in the knockout stages to claim a first national title in six years.

All seemed well at the group stage where they topped the lot but lost 12-5 to Menengai Oilers in the quarter-final and with KCB beating Mwamba 29-7 in the other last eight meeting to advance to the semis, the sugar millers relinquished their advantage to return to Kakamega empty-handed from a season that promised so much.

With that disappointment now behind them, Ayange wants his charge to regroup fast and contest for the Kenya Cup crown which they have won in the last two years.

“Retaining the Kenya Cup is our top most goal now. We have switched our attention to that, we want to get it before we can think about other things like Enterprise Cup,” said Ayange.

The tactician also hopes a number of youngsters who he gave minutes in the sevens circuit will rise to the occasion in the Kenya Cup as he singled out winger Derrick Ashiundu for praise.

“The young players have just been above average, Derrick Ashihundu got injured last season and we have slowly brought him into the game and we were impressed,” he added.

Kenya U20 trialist Warren Kamadi, who made his sevens debut at the Tisap Sevens in Eldoret last month, David Bunduki, Hillary Salano, Patrick Lumumba, Eric Cantona and Duncan Abuyeka are the other youngsters who Kabras will be counting on in the upcoming campaign.

The sugar millers will also be boosted by the return of their big hitters when the league campaign begins after missing a number of them in the latter stages of the sevens season due to national team commitments.

Kabras will likely face formidable opposition from KCB, the National Sevens Circuit champions, who will be eager to reclaim the Kenya Cup title they last won in 2021, in what was a fourth straight time.