National Sevens Circuit champions Menengai Oilers are the top seeds for this year's opening round, the Dala Sevens, scheduled for this weekend at the Kenyatta Stadium, Kisumu.
In the draws released by Kenya Rugby Union on Tuesday, Oilers are in Pool ‘A’ alongside city rivals Nakuru, Nondescripts and Catholic Monks.
Last season’s runners-up KCB headline Pool ‘B’, alongside Harlequins, Masinde Muliro and Mombasa RFC.
Strathmore Leos are in Pool ‘C’ which also features Kabras Sugar, Daystar Falcons and hosts Kisumu RFC.
Dala 7s champions Homeboyz headline Pool ‘D’ and will face Mwamba, Western Bulls and last season’s overall Division Two champions, Makueni RFC.
The order of play and division two draw will be released in a subsequent communication, KRU said in a statement on Tuesday.
Dala 7's has been played since 2003 with breaks between 2006 and 2008 due to logistical challenges, and again in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
KCB are the most successful side on this leg, having won four titles. Mwamba and Homeboyz are on three titles each while Harlequins and Nakuru Have won it twice. Impala Saracens, Strathmore Leos and the defunct military side Ulinzi have one title each.
After Dala 7's, the circuit will head to Mombasa for Driftwood Sevens on July 8/9 while the third round — the Prinsloo 7’s — will be staged in Nakuru on August 5/6.
Nairobi will host the fourth leg, Christie 7’s on 12/13 August while the penultimate round, Tisap 7’s, will be held in Eldoret on September 2/3.
The teams will be back in Nairobi for the last round of the circuit, the Kabeberi 7’s, on September 8 and 9.
Kisumu RFC secretary Jaycox Mwavali said tickets for the Dala 7's will retail at Sh1, 000 per day for the VIP section while regular tickets are retailing at Sh500 per day at www.tikohub.co.ke.
“We expect a very exciting opening round of the Sevens circuit. We appeal to our fans to turn up in large numbers. It will be fun and entertaining,” said Mwavali.
Meanwhile, Mwavali said their plans to play under floodlights in the first of the tournament were shot down by the union. However, he said, they will continue with the plans to get everything in place as they seek approval for the same next season.
