•Murunga believes his young side has learnt from last year's campaign which saw them finish sixth with 76 points.
•The Ngong Road outfit reached the Prinsloo Sevens final, where they lost to Kabras in sudden death 21-19.
Image: FILE
Harlequins have set their sights on winning the National Sevens Series crown starting this weekend with the Christie Sevens.
Murunga believes his young side has learnt from last year's campaign which saw them finish sixth with 76 points.
“I believe the side has matured. Last year we had a young team and we had a share of our challenges. I believe the boys have learned their lessons and are relishing the challenge," said Murunga.
The Ngong Road outfit reached the Prinsloo Sevens final, where they lost to Kabras in sudden death 21-19. The former Kenya Sevens' assistant coach believes his charges should have won.
"We had our moments but we could not capitalise on it and that lack of experience cost us big time," noted Murunga. Murunga's charges are in Pool 'C' for the Christie Sevens, where they face Strathmore Leos, Blak Blad and Daystar Falcons.
Former Kenya Under-20 coach believes this year's competition is wide open, especially, with the national team players on duty away in Paris for the Olympics this week. They are expected to return to their clubs at the end of August.
“It's going to be interesting and clubs need to have the depth to navigate the opening two tournaments. I think there are no favourites and with the nature of Sevens, it's anybody's game," said Murunga.
After Christie Sevens, the series will head to Kakamega for the KRU Sevens to be hosted by Kabras on August 3-4. It will be followed by the Dala Sevens on August 17-18 in Kisumu.
The fourth leg will be the Kabeberi Sevens on August 24-25 with a one-week break before the last two outings —Driftwood 7s (September 7-8 Mombasa) and Prinsloo 7s (September 14-15 Nakuru).
Gaming firm Sportpesa has sponsored the series to the tune of Sh 16.5 million. A total prize pot of Sh2.2 million will be spread across the six legs with the top performing teams set to be rewarded at the end of each tournament.
The top three in the men’s Division One will receive Sh100,000, Sh 50,000 and Sh25,000 respectively while the Division Two men’s winner will pocket Sh50,000.
In the three tournaments that will host a women’s event, the winner and runner-up of those legs will receive Sh70,000 and Sh30,000 respectively.
Each of the six hosting clubs will also get Sh1 million to aid in the organization of their tournament.