SILVERBACKS need to double up in their 7-aside game if they are to improve on their dismal performance in the Safaricom 7s that ended on Sunday in Nairobi-Kenya. The national side did not win a single match in the two-day event which had attracted high profile teams. After losing to Ponsonby (31-0), Hamilton raiders (45-5) and Uganda (26-0) at the group stage (C), the team also lost out to Argentina (38-0) in the Bowl category. It is widely believed that lack of enough 7-aside tournaments was the major reason why the players failed to make an impact in Nairobi. With only one 7-aside tournament on the national rugby calendar, the onus is on the national rugby federation to organize more tournaments in this form of the game. This sentiment is shared by the team’s care-taker Coach Gerald Nsenga, who also reckons that inadequate preparations contributed to the team’s miserable show. “We only had three days to prepare for the event (Silverbacks were drafted in after Morocco dropped out), so it was hard to get ourselves in the right shape and frame of mind,” Nsenga said. Meanwhile, this year’s national rugby league rolls off this Saturday with ten clubs in contention. These include reigning champions Buffaloes, three-time league champions Lion de Fer, Gorillas, UNR Grizzlies, Sharks, Simba, Puma, Kaduha Tigers, Marines and ISAE. Ends
