On Saturday 17th June 2023 The Banda school lifted the U11 rugby 7s trophy at the Ndume 7s tournament hosted by Pembroke House School in Gilgil while St. Andrew’s Turi lifted the U13 rugby 7s trophy.
The Ndume 7s is a tournament that has taken place since 1977 at the Pembroke House School in Gilgil with U11 and u13 tournaments taking place annually. The tournament was not held in 1997 and again in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid19 pandemic.
“Pembroke is one of the oldest prep schools in Kenya together with Kenton College and St. Andrew’s Turi. These schools have always held tournaments and Pembroke volunteered to host the Ndume 7s which is part of the IAPS Circuit. The schools have grown from the initial three to now ten schools in total,” said Paul Odera, Pembroke House Deputy Head Master.
“You can’t overlook the importance of grassroots rugby in any country, in Kenya we have seen the likes of Dominic Coulson, George Kiryazi, Michele Brighetti, Mark Mutuku among others who have represented the country in Chipu and Simbas started off at the Ndume 7s.” added Odera
The tournament had three categories taking place throughout the day: u11, U13 and Girls touch rugby. In the U11 category, hosts Pembroke, Kenton College, Banda, Peponi and Hillcrest were in Group A while St. Andrews Turi, BGE, Braeburn Gitanga, St. Christophers and Brookhouse were in Group B.
Banda and Kenton College progressed to the semifinals having finished first and second in their group respectively while Braeburn Gitanga and BGE were first and second in group B.
U-11 Group A matches
| Pembroke | Kenton | Banda | Peponi | Hillcrest | Points | Position | |
| Pembroke | ………………. | 15-15 (1) | 0-15(0) | 15-15(1) | 30-0(3) | 5 | 3 |
| Kenton | 15-15(1) | ……………… | 10-15(0) | 10-5(3) | 15-5(3) | 7 | 2 |
| Banda | 15-0(3) | 15-10(3) | ……………… | 10-10(1) | 10-5(3) | 10 | 1 |
| Peponi | 15-15(1) | 5-10(0) | 10-10(1) | …………….. | 20-0(3) | 5 | 4 |
| Hillcrest | 0-30(0) | 5-15 (0) | 5-10(0) | 0-20(0) | …………….. | 0 | 5 |
U11 Group B matches
| St. Andrews | BGE | Braeburn | St. Christopher’s | Brookhouse | Points | Position | |
| St. Andrews | ………………. | 5-10(0) | 10-20(0) | 20-10(3) | 20-5(3) | 6 | 3 |
| BGE | 10-5(3) | ……………… | 10-10(1) | 20-5(3) | 15-5(3) | 10 | 2 |
| Braeburn | 20-10(3) | 10-10(1) | ……………… | 20-15(3) | 30-5(3) | 10 | 1 |
| St. Christopher’s | 10-20 (0) | 5-20(0) | 15-20(0) | …………….. | 15-10(3) | 3 | 4 |
| Brookhouse | 5-20(0) | 5-15(0) | 5-30(0) | 10-15(0) | …………….. | 0 | 5 |
The first semifinal saw Banda School beat BGE 20-10 while Braeburn Gitanga saw off Kenton College in the second semifinal with a similar score line, 20-10. The final was full of end-to-end action, half-time scores were 5-5 but Banda was victorious in the second half with a 15-10 score.
In the U13 category, St. Andrew’s Turi was unstoppable as they raked in seven converted tries while only conceding two tries against The Banda school.
On their way to the final, St. Andrew’s Turi narrowly edged Kenton College out with a 21-14 score in the semifinal while The Banda School beat Pembroke House 21-7 in the second semifinal. St. Andrews and Pembroke topped Group A in this category while Banda and Kenton College topped Group B.
U 13 Group A matches
| St. Andrews | Pembroke | BGE | Braeburn | Peponi | Points | Position | |
| St. Andrews | ………………. | 26-7(3) | 21-0(3) | 45-0(3) | 32-7(3) | 12 | 1 |
| Pembroke | 7-26(0) | ……………… | 21-12(3) | 14-7(3) | 12-7(3) | 9 | 2 |
| BGE | 0-21(0) | 12-21(0) | ……………… | 31-0(3) | 19-12(3) | 6 | 3 |
| Braeburn | 0-45(0) | 7-14(0) | 0-31(0) | ……………..
…………….. |
0-31(0) | 0 | 5 |
| Peponi | 7-32(0) | 7-12(0) | 12-19(0) | 31-0(3) | ……………. | 3 | 4 |
U13 Group B matches
| Banda | Kenton | St. Christopher’s | Brookhouse | Hillcrest | Points | Position | |
| Banda | ………………. | 14-0(3) | 21-14(3) | 26-7(3) | 35-0(3) | 12 | 1 |
| Kenton | 0-14(0) | ……………… | 21-12(3) | 35-7(3) | 26-7(3) | 9 | 2 |
| St. Christopher’s | 14-21(0) | 12-21(0) | ……………… | 21-7(3) | 21-7(3) | 6 | 3 |
| Brookhouse | 7-26(0) | 7-35(0) | 7-21(0) | ……………..
|
17-12(3) | 3 | 4 |
| Hillcrest | 0-35(0) | 7-26(0) | 7-21(0) | 12-17(0) | …………….. | 0 | 5 |
In the Girls’ Touch rugby category, Braeburn Garden Estate was the winner while Hill Crest finished as the runners-up.
