Sevens coach Treu resigned to forestall sack
Paul Treu was to be sacked as the national sevens team head coach next week, Nairobi News can exclusively revealed.
But the South African tactician handed in his resignation that was eventually circulated to the press on Thursday afternoon, 14 months after he replaced Mike Friday at the helm of the hot seat.
The Nairobi News understands that Treu has in fact been looking for a soft landing after it became apparent that his relationship with the Kenya Rugby Union was ill-fated.
COACHING OFFERS
Pundits argue his decision to dump Kenya on the eve of the South Africa leg of the HSBS Sevens matches is in no way coincidental, coming in the wake of reports that he had behind the scenes declared “his availability” when approached with coaching offers from Canada and Australia.
“The (Kenya Rugby) Union directors had called a meeting next Tuesday to specifically discuss the team’s performance and conduct. It was not looking good for his future in the job,” one of the directors told Nairobi News.
But it is Treu’s assertions that his decision to dump Kenya was partly due to the divisions within KRU and “interference” in his job description that has raised eyebrows.
Interestingly, Treu’s complaints are almost a carbon copy to those of his predecessor Friday, who also left in a huff despite posting an array of impressive results in the HSBC Sevens leg last season, and at the Sevens Rugby World Cup.
WORST PERFORMANCE
Treu does not have results for an excuse, as his departure coincides with some of the team’s worst performance in recent times.
He managed just a single win in six Main Cup outings at the HSBC IRB Sevens, this coming in the wake of another below mediocre performance at the Safaricom Sevens annual competition in Nairobi.
Treu’s deputies Vuyo Zangga and Felix Ochieng’ are said to take over the reins “for the time being”, while one of the team’s standout players of all time Humphrey Khayange is on the verge of being incorporated into the technical bench.