KRU announces return of the Rugby Super Series after 10-year Hiatus

The Rugby Super Series makes a return to the Kenya rugby calendar of events after a 10-year hiatus, the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) announced on Friday, March 15, 2024, at a launch held at the RFUEA Grounds.

The tournament makes a return which four men’s franchise teams (Buffaloes, Cheetahs, Lions, and Rhinos) and two women’s franchise teams (Eagles and Jaguars) competing for honours when the tournament kicks off in May 2024.

The players for the four men’s teams will be drawn from the top four teams that competed in the 2023/24 Kenya Cup season. Those four teams are Kabras Sugar, KCB Rugby, Menengai Oilers, and Kenya Harlequin. The best 120 players from those four teams will be drafted into the four franchise teams by coaches who will be selected by KRU to head each franchise team. Each franchise will have at most 10 players from one team to ensure regional balancing.

The matches will take place on the four Saturdays in May (4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th). Matches for the first and last weekend will be held in Nairobi at the KCB Sports Club in Ruaraka and the RFUEA Grounds along Ngong Road respectively. The matches for the second weekend will be held at the Nakuru Athletic Club while Kakamega’s Bullring will host the action for the third weekend.

The matches for the men’s competition will see the four teams play each other once over the first three weekends. The top two teams will then contest the final of the Rugby Super Series 2024 on the final weekend while the bottom two teams will contest a third/fourth play-off match. The women’s matches will be played over two legs on the last two weekends of the competition with the team with the best record being declared the winner.

Fixtures 

Men’s competition 

Men’s competition

May 4, 2024 | Lions vs Rhinos (2pm); Buffaloes vs Cheetahs (4pm)

May 11, 2024 | Lions vs Cheetahs (2pm); Buffaloes vs Rhinos (4pm)

May 18, 2024 | Rhinos vs Cheetahs (2pm); Buffaloes vs Lions (4pm)

May 25, 2024 | Rank 3 vs Rank 4 (2pm); Rank 1 vs Rank 2 (4 pm)

Women’s competition

May 18, 2024 | Eagles vs Jaguars

May 25, 2024 | Jaguars vs Eagles

The Rugby Super Series was an annual rugby tournament which was held between 2003 and 2014. Between 2003 and 2007, the tournament comprised four teams (Buffaloes, Cheetahs, Lions, and Rhinos) before expanding to six teams with the addition one team from Kenya (Sharks) and another from Tanzania (Twigas) in 2008. From 2009 to 2014, the tournament was played by eight teams following the addition of two teams from Uganda (Rwenzori and Victoria).

Speaking at the launch of Rugby Super Series, KRU Chairman Sasha Mutai said that the revival of the tournament is in line with a promise he made in his manifesto when he vied for the leadership of the Kenya Rugby Union.

“I said it my manifesto that we need to revive the Rugby Super Series and to professionalize rugby in this country,” Mutai said. “This first year we are going to choose the best XVs rugby players playing in the Kenya Cup to form the four men’s franchise teams and the best coaches in Kenya will be chosen to lead those franchises,” Mutai added as he briefly explained the selection criteria of the tournament.

Mutai further said that the return of the Rugby Super Series was the culmination of the KRU constituting the Rugby Super Series 2024 Organising Committee and allowing it to run independent of the KRU Board as it worked to revive the tournament. The Committee is headed by Aggrey Chabeda (as Chairman) and other members include Paul Odera (High Performance), Michael Kwambo and Wambui Makena (Media and Communications), Brian Onyigo and Kevin Wambura (Fixtures), Edward Moseti (Venues and Facilities), Joyce Odhiambo (Ticketing, Accreditation, and Protocol), Wangui Kibe (Marketing and Sponsorship), Rick Ashley (Finance), James Absalom Juma (Tournament Director), Andrew Kamuyu (Security), Waweru Gathecha (ex-officio member), and Thomas Odundo (Secretary). Thomas Odundo is also the acting CEO of the KRU.

In his remarks, Chabeda hailed the rich history of the Rugby Super Series that significantly shaped the landscape of Kenya XV’s rugby and termed its return as a demonstration of KRU’s commitment to providing a platform for top players to showcase their talent on the national stage once again.

“For the first time, two Women’s teams will be included as part of ensuring that the game is developed equitably,” Chabeda also said on the introduction of women’s competition in the Rugby Super Series. Chabeda also outlined three primary aims for reviving the tournament: to elevate the standards of play for top players hence providing a clear pathway for their selection to the national XV’s team; to upgrade the participating franchises into fully-fledged professional teams within teams with a view of positioning the National XV’s team to qualify for the Rugby World Cup; and, create an environment for family entertainment that will make the Rugby Super Series a must-attend event on the Kenyan sporting calendar.

While KRU confirmed that there will be no prize money at moment as the competition is yet to attract a sponsor, the Union sees the revival of the Rugby Super Series as one that will bring back corporate sponsorship to the sport and see the competition grow to attracting teams from Tanzania and Uganda like it did in the past.