Driftwood Sevens offer vital lessons for Zetech Oaks

Zetech Oaks head coach Ramsfield Matekwa has lauded his charges for showing their bottle in the just concluded Driftwood Sevens, the third edition of the National Rugby Circuit in Mombasa despite the team finishing at position 12th in Division One competition.

Matekwa holds that this being their first time playing the tournament and were able to withstand the heat and secure a spot to remain in the division heading to Dala Sevens, is an indication they can scale up the ladder to finish among top teams in the Kisumu edition.

“Our aim was to remain in Division 1 which we did and even the teams we played felt the heat we brought to them despite being the underdogs. So as we move to Dala Sevens we expect to finish among the top five teams in division 1,” said Matekwa.

However, Matekwa has pointed to their experience playing in the division as an eye opener to him and his boys saying that the opportunity to play against established clubs has helped them to identify some of the areas they need to work on as they prepare for Dala Sevens.

“We are playing with established clubs which have done great investments on their players and we are sometimes finding our players being weaker physically compared to them but all in all I am very proud of them because of the courage they had in the driftwoods,” he added.

Oaks were in pool D alongside Mwamba RFC, Nondescripts and Western Bulls.

Mwamba RFC staged a comeback to beat Menengai Oilers 21-7 in the Driftwood Sevens final held at Mombasa Sports Club on Sunday.

Focus now shifts to Dala Sevens set for July 1 in the lake side city.