Christie 7s: NYS Spades, Strathmore back to quarters as KCB, Kabras, Daystar go unbeaten

The quarter-final line-up for the 60th Christie 7s took shape at the RFUEA Grounds on Saturday, 12 September, as teams battled through three pool matches for a place in Sunday’s knockout stage.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsWith only the top two sides from each of the four pools advancing to the Main Cup quarter-finals, teams had little margin for error. By the end of the pool stage, KCB Rugby, Club Afrique, Kabras Sugar, NYS Spades, Menengai Oilers, Strathmore Leos, Daystar Falcons and Mwamba RFC had done enough to secure their places in the last eight.Ashiundu reveals how Kabras teammates supported him after painful loss of family memberPool AKCB Rugby set the pace in Pool A, producing two emphatic victories in their opening matches to put themselves firmly in control of the group.The Bankers opened their campaign with a 40-5 demolition of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) Rugby, with Nygel Amaitsa, Elvis Olukusi, Austin Sikutwa and Lionel Ageliti all getting on the scoresheet.They followed that with another commanding display, beating Club Afrique 40-5 to become the first team in the pool to register two victories and effectively seal their place in the quarter-finals.##NAJAVA_MECA_9952666##Club Afrique, meanwhile, had started their campaign on a positive note, defeating Kenya Harlequin 26-19 in an entertaining opening encounter. Adams Elton was the star for the invitational side, scoring a hat-trick as Club Afrique held off a spirited Harlequin challenge.Harlequin responded in their second match, beating MMUST 27-12 to keep their own hopes alive while putting pressure on Club Afrique ahead of the final round.That left Club Afrique needing a result against MMUST in their final pool match, and they delivered when it mattered most, edging the university side 24-19. The victory gave them two wins from three matches and secured second place in the pool.Why 14 Kenyan players will miss out on inaugural Ultimate 7sKCB then completed a perfect pool stage by beating Kenya Harlequin 27-12, finishing with three wins from three.KCB Rugby and Club Afrique therefore advanced to the quarter-finals from Pool A.Pool BKabras RFC entered Pool B knowing there was little room for error as they chased both a place in the quarter-finals and valuable points in their battle with KCB Rugby for the overall National Sevens Circuit title.##NAJAVA_MECA_9952681##The defending champions were made to work immediately by NYS Spades, who took an early 5-0 lead through Brian Onyancha.Kabras responded through Patrick Sabatia, with Rayvon Ambale adding the conversion before Jone Kubu scored their second try to give the champions a 12-5 victory.They faced another stern test against newly promoted Mean Machine in their second match. Machine briefly took a 7-5 lead, but Kabras regained control to claim a 22-7 victory. The result gave Kabras two wins from two and guaranteed their place in the quarter-finals before their final pool match.NYS Spades coach reveals secret behind team’s fighting spiritNYS Spades, meanwhile, recovered strongly from their opening defeat. They beat Kenyatta University’s Blak Blad 19-7, with Bravin Wekesa scoring a converted try as Spades turned a 7-7 halftime score into a comfortable victory.That left Spades needing one more win against Mean Machine to secure their place in the last eight.They delivered in a tense final pool encounter, edging Machine 12-10 to finish with two victories and join Kabras in the quarter-finals.##NAJAVA_MECA_9952650##Kabras then completed an unbeaten pool campaign with a 19-7 win over KU's Blak Blad, finishing with three victories from three matches.Kabras Sugar and NYS Spades therefore progressed from Pool B.Pool CMenengai Oilers entered Pool C as the favourites and quickly demonstrated why, although they were made to work for their opening victory.Details of Christie 7s' new trophy unveiled to mark 60th anniversary [PHOTOS]The Oilers defeated Strathmore Leos 17-10 in their first match before edging past Kisumu RFC 19-14 in another closely contested encounter.Two wins from their opening two matches were enough to send Oilers into the quarter-finals, leaving their final pool fixture as an opportunity to complete an unbeaten campaign.Strathmore, meanwhile, were left needing to respond after their opening defeat to Oilers, and the Leos did exactly that in emphatic fashion.##NAJAVA_MECA_9952581##They shut out Nondescripts RFC 26-0 in their second match, immediately reviving their qualification hopes. However, with the final quarter-final place still to be decided, Strathmore needed another victory in their last pool match.The Leos completed the job by beating Kisumu RFC 26-15, giving them two wins from three matches and securing second place in the pool.Oilers then put the finishing touch to their campaign with a dominant 34-7 victory over Nondescripts, completing a perfect three-from-three record.Strathmore University lecturer explains decamping Leos for NondiesMenengai Oilers and Strathmore Leos advanced to the quarter-finals from Pool C.Pool DPool D produced two of the most dominant performances of the day, with Daystar Falcons and Mwamba RFC both putting themselves in a commanding position after their opening two matches.Daystar began with a stunning 44-0 demolition of Embu RFC. Arnold Agonda opened the scoring immediately after kick-off, while Duncan Olile, Patrick Odongo and Clinton Amukwachi also crossed as the Falcons raced into a 29-0 halftime lead.##NAJAVA_MECA_9952575##They continued their assault after the break to complete a comprehensive victory and make an immediate statement of intent.Daystar then produced another high-scoring display against Impala RFC, running out 46-10 winners. After two matches, the Falcons had scored 90 points and conceded just 10, making them one of the most impressive sides of the pool stage.Mwamba RFC were equally ruthless.KCB’s Elvis Olukusi reveals how he earned Monaco Rugby Sevens opportunityThey opened their campaign with a 19-12 victory over Impala before producing one of the biggest wins of the day, crushing Embu RFC 48-0.Eugene Ojiambo was the star of that encounter, scoring four tries as Mwamba ran riot and moved to two wins from two.With both Daystar and Mwamba having won their opening two matches, the two sides had already secured their quarter-final places before meeting in the final pool encounter.Daystar Falcons and Mwamba RFC therefore emerged as the two quarter-finalists from Pool D.