Blow to Kenya Harlequin as vice-captain is handed five-match ban over dangerous tackle

Kenya Harlequin will miss their vice-captain Jan Remke in their next five matches after he was handed a suspension over a dangerous tackle at the Driftwood Sevens in Mombasa on Sunday.

The player was sanctioned after what was deemed to be unacceptable conduct during Harlequin’s cup quarter-final encounter against Strathmore Leos.

Strathmore won the match 22-0 to sail through to the semi-final where they lost 12-7 to Kabras Sugar but it came at a heavy cost courtesy of their more physical opponents.

“Jan Remke of Kenya Harlequins has been handed a 5 week ban (5 matches) which resulted from a dangerous tackle on his opponent in their #Driftwood7s Cup QF match against Strathmore,” Kenya Rugby Union said via a Twitter post.

Remke’s absence is a blow to coach Paul Murunga’s side as he is among the dependable players in the squad who offer not just quality on the pitch but leadership on and off it.

The player served two of his five-match suspension later on Sunday when he missed Quins' 12-7 win over Nondescripts in the fifth-place semi-final as well as the final against Mwamba, which they lost 12-7.

With the third leg of the National Sevens Circuit heading to Nakuru for the Prinsloo Sevens in August, the former Homeboyz player will be absent for his side’s group fixtures but will be hoping that they make it to the Main Cup quaters for him to play apart.

Quins collected 15 points in the season-opening Dala Sevens after finishing fourth in Kisumu but have dropped to sixth in Mombasa where they managed 12 to take their tally to 27 from the two legs.