They insisted that they have now "cleared" the outstanding arrears.

The strike comes barely 24 hours after the the Kenyan Rugby Union (KRU) unveiled former South African sevens boss Paul Treu as the team's new head coach.

Treu was appointed to the role with a brief, referred to as "Operation Rio", which involves steering the Kenyans to qualification for the inaugural Olympic rugby sevens competition at Rio 2016.

Treu is reportedly receiving the biggest pay package in the history of Kenyan sport and this contrast seems to have been the final straw for players unhappy about the slow progress over their new contracts.

Alongside many perks and performance based bonuses Treu's salary reportedly totals $11,000 (£6,800/€8,000) per month in comparison with salaries and tour allowances received by the players allegedly among the lowest on the sevens circuit.

"The issue is about contracts, because the players went to [World Series] Gold Coast sevens with the sponsorship deal not signed earlier this month," an unnamed official within the KRU said.

"The players trained today and some of them like assistant captain, Collins Injera, picked their contracts and we expect the rest to finish signing theirs soon."

But various players have reported that they had not yet received new contracts and it is believed problems have occurred because KRU have suffered delays in the renewal of their contract with sponsors Kenya Airways.

The announcement of Paul Treu, pictured in his former role as head coach of the South African team, as the new coach appears to have precipitated the strike


In what is a longstanding dispute over wage negotiations this marks the second time the players have been on strike in 2013 following a similar incident in May.

This disunity contrasts however with their competitive fortunes.

The team enjoyed their best ever campaign in the 2012-2013 season where they finished fifth and, after athletics, rugby sevens looks set to be one of their strongest sports at Rio 2016.

Under interim boss Felix Ochieng they also finished sixth at the season opening Gold Coast Sevens earlier this month.

The next round is due to place in Dubai on November 29 and 30, where Treu is set to take charge for the first time.