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SAFARI SEVENS

Memories – Lavin Asego

The Safari Sevens has over the years

unearthed its fair share of Kenya Sevens
players who have gone on to excel on
the World stage in rugby’s abridged
version.

Among the players who have proceeded to greatness include Oscar
Osir, Dennis Mwanja, Humphrey Kayange, Collins Injera, Innocent
Simiyu to name but a few.
Playmaker par excellence Lavin Asego, the first Kenyan player to
reach 1000 points on the Sevens World Series, also earned his first
representative stripes at this very tournament way back in 2003. It is
also important to note that Lavin is one of a select bunch of players
to have played in the Nike, Carisbook, Kooga, Volcano, Gilbert and
Samurai kits for Kenya. We will have to do a separate interview to
cover Lavin’s kit experience.
Reliving those Safari Sevens experiences, Lavin says, ” I first played
at the Safari Sevens in 2003 at the RFUEA Ground and featured for
Shujaa, which was the Kenyan second string side at the tournament.
It was an amazing feeling because just a year earlier I remember
watching it on television and telling myself I want to replace Jeff
Vilembwa who was the flyhalf in that Shujaa squad at the time.”

His burning ambition and desire to achieve more saw him rise up
the ranks, featuring for the first choice Kenyan side in subsequent
editions, winning the Robin Cahill trophy in 2004, 2008,2009 and
2010.

In describing that winning feeling, Asego says, ” The crowd
was always amazing and I usually took time to look around the
stadium and soak in the atmosphere. My enduring memory of the
tournament at RFUEA was beating the Emerging Boks in the 2010
final with torrential rain pouring. Ashy (Sidney Ashioya) scored the
winning try in extra time.”

The 2010 final was the last time the RFUEA Ground witnessed Safari
Sevens action, making stops at Nyayo Stadium and Kasarani in the
intervening years before returning back to where it all began in 1996
for the 2017 edition.
Lavin, having witnessed the tournament go full circle, says, ” If we
can get the RFUEA crowd over to Kasarani then we have a world
class tournament worthy of the world series.”

Lavin’s parting shot to upcoming players: ” Nobody owes you
anything. Head down,work hard and your light will shine.”

This year’s Safari Sevens takes place at the RFUEA Ground between
3rd and 5th November 2017.

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