Buffaloes skip Sharks 7 tourney

Two-time champions Buffaloes will not take part in this year’s Sharks 7s tourney which gets underway on Saturday in Ruyenzi, Kamonyi District.

Saturday, March 09, 2013
Lucien Bikamba seen in action here in a past Buffaloes league match last year. The New Times; File

Two-time champions Buffaloes will not take part in this year’s Sharks 7s tourney which gets underway on Saturday in Ruyenzi, Kamonyi District.The Buffaloes acting coach-player Lucien Bikamba told Times Sport on Friday that they have skipped the tournament to prepare for the Hong Kong tour where 10 of their senior players were selected to the national team, Silverbacks."We will not take part in the tournament because our players might risk getting injured and yet in five days’ time, we will be heading to Hong Kong with the Silverbacks."And also, we received the invitation on a short notice. We got the invitation four days ago, had we received it early, we could have assembled our second team to compete in the event,” confirmed Bikamba.The Sharks rugby club chairman Janvier Ugeziwe noted that the tournament will attract local seven clubs namely Grizzlies, Ister of Ruyenzi, Lion de fer, Muhanga, Ruhango, Puma and hosts Sharks.Sharks are defending champions after beating Buffaloes 15-0 in last year’s edition. However, Buffaloes remain a dominant side having won the 2010 and 2011 editions.The winner of the one-day tournament will walk with the trophy and a cash prize of Rwf150, 000.