Two sides travelled under the DBA banner at the weekend's Driftwood 7s, and the coastal region gave us plenty to talk about. An U18 boys team that never stopped working, a U16 boys and girls group that matched anyone on the day, and a clutch of our own players pulled into the Coast Select side that stood out from the rest of the tournament.

DBA Africa Coastal Tsunami lined up against Coast Select, Ololo Foundation, Anjego High School, New Life, Kilifi Titans, Miritini Sailors, Mombasa Sports Club Academy and Likoni JS across the age grades.

Results on the Day

The U16 girls were the standout results of the weekend, beating MSA Bulldogs 26–5 and Likoni JS 10–0 without conceding a try in either game. The U16 boys had to work harder for theirs, edging Miritini Sailors 14–7 and then MSA Bulldogs 14–12 in a game that could have gone either way. The U18 boys were a mixed bag, a comfortable 21–7 win over Anjego High School, followed by a heavy 29–0 loss to Miritini Sailors that the coaching staff will be reviewing closely.

Mejumaa Hassa was named standout player for the U16 girls, Ali Omar for the U16 boys, and Abdallah Omar for the U18 boys.

Coast Select Call-Ups and Coaches Take

Six Coastal Tsunami players earned selection into the Coast Select age-grade sides. Abdallah Omar, Gordon Moyi, Sharungi Bobo Mwanyumba and Peter Musembi were picked for the U18 Coast Select side heading to the Christie 7s, while Ali Omar and Hassan Ali were selected for the U16 Coast Select team. Six call-ups from one tournament says a lot about where the coastal rugby academy programme is right now.

DBA Coastal Tsunami manager Habib Zuga Habweri said the tournament gave the age-grade teams a real platform to test themselves and pick up lessons for the next block of competitions, with defensive organisation, decision-making under pressure and holding onto possession flagged as the main areas to sharpen going forward.

A Shoutout Beyond the Coast

Overall tournament honours went to New Life age grade, one of our own, out of the Rift Valley satellite academy. Good to see that side finish on top, and it's exactly the kind of result we want to see spreading across the DBA Africa network.

Proud of what the coastal boys and girls put in this weekend. More of these performances to come.