This was the assesment of the official website of the 2001 sevens Rugby world cup, created by the IRB.

Kenyan rugby players are reknown the world over for their flair , pace and sheer athletiscism. This has been noted by many including the chairman of the International rugby board, Vernon Pugh and several other international rugby players and coaches. . In the seventies, Kenya's sevens rugby team ranked amongst the worlds best. Thanks to the likes of Dennis Awori among others, Kenya was a force to reckon with, winning the Dubai sevens 3 years in a row.

Today However , sevens rugby has changed drastically. It now involves a myriad of technical subtleties which Kenya is yet to master. Despite having talent to match any team, Kenya is light years behind the best of the world in terms of technique. After dominating the scene in the seventies, Kenya dropped out of the limelight and was isolated from international rugby for more than a decade.

The introduction of the Safari sevens in 1996 was the beginning of a revival in the fortunes of Kenya rugby. Thanks to the safari sevens Kenya has been able to get exposure to top class rugby teams from across the globe. In addition to this, Kenya has has made several inroads into the world of sevens rugby over the last six years, and have been invited to several world class tournaments including the Dubai sevens and the Stellenbosch sevens. In addition, the introduction of the local sevens circuit by the KRFU has served to increase the popularity of the game countrywide and increase player exposure.

Paul Odera tackles a Samoan player during the 2000 Dubai sevens.

Qualifying for the 2001 sevens rugby world cup remains the greatest achievement in the history of Kenya rugby. During the qualifying tournament , Kenya finished second to Zimbabwe , finishing ahead of such strong teams as Namibia, Tunisia and the Ivory Coast. Quite an achievement considering that Kenya had failed miserably at their previous attempt to qualify for the 1997 world cup, loosing heavily to Tunisia and Morocco.

Sammy Khakame skippered the Kenya team that qualified for the wordl cup.

At the world sevens Championships, Kenya surprised may by beating the fancid French team 12-7. However they proceeded to lose to Russia , Argentina amd Fiji.

At the 2002 Commonwealth games, Kenya received rave reviews following a stellar performance in which they beat Samoa 28-20 and pushed England to the limit before losing. The results were a vast improvement from the previous Commonwealth games in which Kenya scored only one try. Kenya also emerged as the crowd favorites thanks to their pace and agility.

Meet kenya's squad to the 2001 sevens rugby world cup

Results of Kenya's campaign at the world cup

During the 2003 IRB sevens circuit, Kenya firmly cemented their arrival as one the top rugby sevens nations in the world. At the South Africa sevens , Kenya taught Wales a lesson in hard running rugby when they trounced them 19-0. But it was at the Hong Kong sevens when Kenya became the talk of the town with a 15-12 upset win over Australia. Kenya are now ranked 9th in the world.

Kenya celebrate their win over Australia at the Hong Kong sevens.

The Kenya rugby sevens photo gallery