At the halfway stage, the championship looks like a two-horse race between KCB (63 points) and Strathmore Leos (58).
The bankers have bagged two tournaments — the Driftwood Sevens last month and showed class to win the Christie Sevens last weekend.
Leos fell 15-14 to KCB in the Driftwood final but bounced back to win the Prinsloo Sevens (24-7 against KCB) and reached the semifinals of the Christie Sevens, losing 24-19 to Menengai Oilers.
KCB coach Dennis Mwanja believes his side have the momentum from last weekend but will not underestimate the dynamics of the tournament.
"Sevens is very unpredictable, one weekend you are on top of the world, the next you are losing in a semi or a final. The boys have to stay humble and take one match at a time," noted Mwanja.
The Thika Road side are in Pool 'A' where they face hosts Embu RFC, Daystar Falcons and Mwamba.
"We know the strengths of the teams we are facing in the pool. The boys have had a good week in training, rectifying our mistakes, especially discipline at the breakdown,” added Mwanja.
Strathmore Leos have good memories of Embu after winning the title last year, although it was then a pre-season tournament.
Coach Willis Ojal hopes his charges can sharpen their attack after coming up short last weekend.
The varsity outfit are in a tricky Pool 'B' where they open their campaign against a wounded Kabras, face Impala and Kabete Stallions.
“It's one of the toughest pools of the championship, so we know we must play at a very high level this weekend to advance to the last eight,” added Ojal.
Menengai Oilers have a derby against cross-town rivals Nakuru, Nondies and Mean Machine, and tactician Geoffrey Ominde will be delighted to have Shujaa's John Okoth in the fold.
“We were in the final at Christie but did not match up well against KCB, so we get an opportunity to correct our mistakes and deliver,” said Ominde.
Pool 'D' will see Quins battle Catholic Monks, MMUST and the invitational side, Zetech Oaks. Coach Patrice Agunda is bullish about his side's prospects.
“We pushed KCB hard in the semis, but our poor start cost us. We hope we can go all the way this weekend," said Agunda.
