Daystar Clinton Amukwachi scores a try against Kabras during the Kabeberi Sevens a fortnight ago/HANDOUTDaystar Falcons will use the one-week break before the Embu leg of the SportPesa National Sevens Circuit to work on their kick-off reception and breakdown play after securing their first semi-final appearance of the season at the Driftwood Sevens in Mombasa.
Speaking on Thursday, Falcons coach Caleb Bosire said his charges struggled to deal with kick-offs and were also penalised for poor entries at the breakdown.
“Kick-off reception is key in sevens and we struggled in that regard on both days, losing a lot of aerial balls to the opposition. We also need to be sharper in the breakdown. We were penalised a couple of times for wrong entries, so we will look at being better,” said Bosire.
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The bronze-medal finish earned Falcons 17 points, lifting them to fourth in the standings with 52 points.
“We have been knocking on the door of the semis and for us to achieve it in Mombasa after two quarter-final places, we hope to keep the momentum heading into the final two legs of the tournament,” observed Bosire.
In Mombasa, Daystar beat Nakuru 15-0 in the preliminaries before overcoming Kilifi RFC 19-10. They then lost 31-5 to Menengai Oilers.
In the quarter-finals, Falcons defeated NYS Spades 17-5 before bowing out to Kabras 19-0 in the semi-final. They bounced back in the bronze-medal match, beating Oilers 21-5.
Falcons have been drawn in Pool D for the Embu leg, alongside fellow university sides Masinde Muliro University and Zetech, as well as Mwamba.
“It’s a tricky pool. Sevens is very unpredictable. We are the top seeds in our pool but we must be wary of the threat these other teams bring to the table,” said Bosire.
The Athi River-based side will, however, be without star winger Patrick Odongo, who will be away at the Ultimate Sevens Championship in Europe next month.
“Odongo will be away in Europe, but the talent and depth we have in the squad should be sufficient enough to be competitive,” noted Bosire.
Falcons finished fifth in the standings last season, but Bosire believes a top-four finish is within reach this year.
“Only six points separate us from Oilers and with two legs we can move into the top three positions and finish higher in the standings as we look forward to a strong finish in the series.”
