Kenya Harlequins have appointed Paul Murunga as their head coach for the upcoming season.
Murunga takes over from Senegalese Amadou Diallo who left the club after one season following a poor run of results which saw the Ngong Road giants almost getting relegated and limping home to finish 10th.
Murunga has signed a two-year contract with the club. He will be assisted by Simon Odongo and Patrice Agunda.
This will be Quins' fifth coach in five seasons following the departure of Charles Cadovillis, Dominique Habimana, Belgian Antoine Plasman and Amadou Diallo. Murunga has had a distinguished rugby career both as a player and coach.
He coached Homeboyz to the national Sevens circuit in 2016 as well as won the Enterprise Cup in 2018. He also coached Kenya Under 20 team from 2012 to 2015 and had a coaching stint with Mean Machine.
The alumni of Kakamega High School coached the Kenya Sevens side between 2018-2019 and was an assistant between 2015-2016 with the late Benjamin Ayimba.
In his playing days, Murunga played for the defunct army outfit Ulinzi between 2001-2003 before joining KCB, where he won three Kenya Cup titles between 2005-2007. He was called up to the Kenya Simbas between 2003 -2009 and was capped 28 times.
Clubs chairman Michael Wanjala said the club is delighted with the appointment of the former international.
“He brings a lot of experience to the club and has an impressive track record of working with young players,” added Wanjala.
Murunga's immediate target will be to make a mark in the national Sevens circuit which kickoffs on Saturday with the Kabeberi Sevens and ensure Quins qualify for the playoffs in the Kenya Cup, according to Wanjala.
“It's a fairly young squad for the Sevens circuit and we want to be competitive for the league which starts later in the year. We need to be higher up on the table and be in the playoffs.
Wanjala said they have started an under 20 team in readiness for the start of the Eric Shirley Shield which will run concurrently with the Kenya Cup.
