Daystar Falcons bank on returning stars for Driftwood Sevens charge

Daystar Falcons star winger Patrick Odongo scoring a try at the Kabeberi Sevens last weekend 

Daystar Falcons rugby coach Bosire hopes the return to form of Eddy Wambugu and Clinton Amukwachi can inspire his side to a semi-final berth at this weekend’s Driftwood Sevens in Mombasa.

The Athi River-based side sit sixth on the series standings with 35 points, but Bosire is bullish about their prospects after a promising start to the campaign.

“After three legs, the boys are ticking the boxes well. We have had a strong start, playing in two Cup quarter-finals and finishing eighth. Now we need the boys to be consistent heading into the next three tournaments,” said Bosire.

Wambugu and Amukwachi played key roles as the varsity side finished sixth at last weekend’s Kabeberi Sevens, where they lost 19-10 to Mwamba in the fifth-place final. “It was good to have them back.

They are very experienced, and they are mentoring some of our youngest players in the squad,” added Bosire. Daystar opened their Kabeberi campaign with a convincing 24-0 victory over Impala before edging Kisumu 14-7. They, however, fell 19-7 to Quins in the pool stages.

In the quarter-finals, they went down 27-12 to Strathmore Leos before recovering to upset favourites Kabras 19-12 in the classification match for fifth place. However, Daystar will be without star winger Patrick Odongo, who sustained an ankle sprain during the match against Quins.

“As you are aware, Odongo is part of the Kenya Shujaa players who will be playing in the Ultimate Sevens in Europe next month, so he will rest for the next fortnight before travelling,” said Bosire.

Daystar have been drawn alongside Menengai Oilers, Nakuru and Kilifi RFC in Pool C at the Driftwood Sevens. Bosire is targeting a strong showing, but insists his charges will take the tournament one match at a time.

“We are on the right path, but we will take it one game at a time and ensure that, come the end of the day, we have qualified for the Main Cup quarter-finals,” he said.

Pool A features Quins, Kabras, Nondies and hosts Mombasa Sports Club (MSC) in arguably the tournament’s pool of death. Defending champions KCB face Emerging Uganda Sevens, Kisumu RFC and Blak Blad in Pool B, while Kabeberi Sevens runners-up Strathmore Leos will tackle Mwamba, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology and Division Two winners NYS Spades in Pool D.