The Year Gone By

As expected it was a year of ups and downs.  Good performances followed by poor performances.  I'll begin with local rugby.  Mwamba started the season on a high note, winning the Impala floodlit over Harlequins in the finals.  The two sides then formed one franchise for the Babmuri Rugby Super Series and were hands down favorites to retain the trophy as Rhinos.  Five time finalists (KCB) Lions had other ideas and tore them apart.  This followed the most shocking start to the season for decades for Harlequins.  Three straight losses in the league consigned them to the bottom 3 of the league and were declared relegation candidates.  In the meantime, the other firm favorites Impala and KCB got off to blazing starts and were only threatened intermittently by Nakuru, with Impala staying on top of the leage throughout.  Nobody really saw Quins coming and with four matches to go in the league, they knocked off the top three teams, one by one to see them take the trophy at the final match against KCB.  Their best position throughout the league was third until they won the crown, I think a first anywhere in the world.  They then proceeded to lose in the Enterprise Cup in the pre-quarter final stage and Nakuru went on to win the cup, beating along the way all the top teams - Impala, Mwamba and KCB.  The grandslam was expected to be a one way affair but once again Quins astounded all by beating Nakuru to lift it.

The second division was an entirely Quins vs. KCB affair.  Both teams got to the final of all competitions and fairly evenly shared the spoils, but Quins won the grandslam for 2nd division.  The 7's Circuit was won by Mwamba after two rounds and was severely diluted by the absence of national team players for two out of four legs! In all I'd give the domestic season an 8 out of 10 for competitiveness and entertainment value.  I reserve my comments on the administration of the same.

On the international scene, the 7's team collected their most ever points in the IRB Circuit and were ranked 7th worldwide.  That more points saw them positioned lower shows the level of competition in the circuit as increasing, or maybe just more core teams.  We had a dismal first two legs followed by very impressive four legs.  The last was the most disappointing as our expectations had now been raised extremely high.  The winning of the Safari Sevens by the local lads was however the crowing glory for the season.  The fifteens team played to script.  My low point was Cameroun sending an ill prepared team to Nairobi that failed to prepar

e the team adequately for the next challenge to be against Tunisia, where we were roundly humiliated.  Our retention of the Elgon Cup was more of failure by the Ugandans than exemplary performance from ourselves.

On the administrative point of view, this year saw much more

 money flow into KRFU coffers than ever before.  In addition to this is the selection of Kenya to host next year's Junior World Rugby Trophy.  We are yet to see the effects of all this money coming our way.  

In farewell we wish you a Happy and Prosperous 2009 and hope that Rugby in Kenya can rise to the occassion and fulfill the hopes and aspirations for the thousands of Kenyans looking up to it.

Puzzle of the Day:  Who's the odd one out in the picture below? 

Hint:  Attach a name and responsibility to each person.

Happy Holidays

I take this opportunity to wish all our readers Happy Holidays and a Prosperous 2009.  As a parting shot I leave you with this image to contemplate.  What direction do we as Kenyans want our Rugby to take in 2009 going forward, and what role are we prepared to play as individuals or collectively?  Are we ready to take the animal by the horns and deal with it or are we content to sit back and whine and bitch when we see fit?  As has been our policy on this blog, we are always objective and will analyse everything at more than just face value.  You have seen us criticisize good performances and bad performances in equal doses.  In fact I think patriotism got the better of us and we're now soft on the National teams despite dismal performances.  I will have a chat with my fellow contributors and we will try and continue telling it like it is, come the New Year.  From me, this may be my last post for the year as I am on holidays with limited access to technology, so see you in January.  And come February as I said in a past post, who knows.. maybe all will be revealed.

Is Rugby In Kenya an Elitist Sport

I have fought long and hard with this question in my mind. There is perception and reality and the finer the line between them, the more difficult it becomes to diferentiate the two. And depending on where you are standing, you may not know either what side you're on.

It is true, that the first rugby playing schools in Kenya were the upper class, or high cost schools in Kenya. Only certain families could afford to take their children to such schools. The rugby clubs that sprung up were actually off-shoots of these schools, set up by former students and the likes. However, I personally thought that all that ended with the advent of the likes of Miro RFC, Mean Machine RFC and Mwamba RFC. Those were meant to be the clubs for the people. That they were the first "black" clubs does not mean that blacks were the poor, but it is a fact it was difficult for some players to join certain clubs.

Today virtually all schools play rugby. It would mean that at the playing level, rugby transcends all strata of society. However once they leave school, what clubs do they join? I have heard tell that certain clubs only communicate in certain languages or in certain styles hence making certain players uncomfortable about playing there or even fraternising with those players. Is there then elitisim in clubs? Does this augur well for the National team that players are not at home in any club they feel like joining? Does that mean that some players career development can be stifled since they cannot belong to certain clubs?

The last level is the spectators. Which spectators relate to rugby? Is it those who played in their past or present, hence restricting us to the small pool for a crowd for the game? Is rugby really a popular spectator sport in Kenya? Is the test of popularity the ten thousand odd people who attend the Safari Sevens, more as a social outing than a pure rugby spectacle? How many weekends in a year can we attract even five thousand people to a match or tournament?

I feel the Junior World Rugby Trophy presented us with an opportunity to popularise the game more, amongst both players and fans. The grounds on Ngong' road have their limitations with accessibility, capacity, facilities and the likes. This article from the IRB put paid to all my hopes. With two venues a must for the event, must the venues be next to each other? Are we afraid of venturing into unknown lands? Are we afraid to test our popularity? Are we Elitist?

Weekly Ramble

Well, Punter beat me to this one.  In the off season, any news is news so forgive me.  The past two weekends have seen friendly matches take place at various clubs, the wazee vs. the vijana.  KCB held theirs two weekends ago and Harlequins and Impala held theirs last weekend.  In close games, I have oft heard the excuse that they were fitter than us, or they were faster than us, or they were stronger than us.  Rarely have I heard the excuse they were better than us!  

Interesting that in all the games, the Wazee were hands down winners.  I don't think the vijana had anything to say.  That people close to and over forty years of age can hold their own against players at their "peak" and even show them a thing or two must make one wonder.  That "un-negotiated laws" apply during such games is still not an excuse because with good basics, like passing and ball retention, the wazees should not have a chance at even seeing the ball.  But with the reverse happening, it must leave a lot wanting.  For me, of more significance should be the youth using it as a lesson to learn what experience means in a game.  That we have people retiring when merely twenty five years is a disservice to themselves and to the nation!

Weekly Ramble

Two out of eight legs gone and we only managed to get points in one of them.  A non-core team of the circuit, Portugal, managed to top a pool, something we have never done.  Just wondering, is it possible to tell the level of conditioning of a player just by looking at him?  

In last week's ramble, I spoke about what I felt we needed to get to the next level, but hoped it would not come out so soon.  One thing remains a universal truth.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it!  It was pretty obvious, the players' bodies could not handle the increased training.  By being on the verge of greatness, I believe the technical team got carried away.  I mean, from players used to 3-4 hours of training in a week, they must have been doing nearly double that in a day.  Some players totally phased out of the whole thing.  Uncharacteristic knock-ons from otherwise reliable players and a total lack of initiative from the players "we are relying on" meant we were totally out of it for the two days.  And once more, the technical team should have realised or noticed this and made changes.  From the time we dropped to the bowl competition, we had nothing left to lose.  It was clear we were never going to get the measly points on offer so why bother.  We carried at least two players who were mere warm up and training aids.  They did not see the pitch at all competitively.  I have always been against carrying players you are afraid to use.  If "tour" is what matters, then that is fine, but I still insist, you are carrying the hopes and dreams of an entire nation, so be prudent in your decisions.

Koffi Anan taught us about hard choices, and being prepared to make them.  I don't think we are.  We are too fond of looking for scapegoats and sacrificing them.  Why are we always looking for one person to bear the weight of our collective failures.  That our entire system is deficient means we need a total overhaul of the said system.  That the people responsible for this system keep changing nuts and bolts on the periphery whereas an in depth look is required is a pointer to the direction our problems lie.  If one person needs to be held responsible, it must be where the buck stops.  Your interpretation of that is entirely up to you!

All that glitters is not gold!

In electricity generation, an electrical generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy, generally using electromagnetic induction. The reverse conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy is done by a motor, motors and generators have many similarities. A generator forces electric charges to move through an external electrical circuit, but it does not create electricity or charge, which is already present in the wire of its windings.

This is what is now preoccupying my mind after having watched Kenya in the George Sevens. It surely wasn't our best weekend. I have exams before we close and that's my focus for now.

Kenya vs Portugal - We were beaten by a very physical side. They had studied us. Had we studied them? Those two Portugeese brothers enjoyed running at us.

Kenya vs Wales - Lady Luck smiled on us but we just didn't click. The boys looked tired and didn't have any killer instinct in them. Opong kept them in the game just as he did in Dubai. He was very committed. We barely won.

Kenya vs Samoa - Those Polynesians have our number. They just kick to our short guys and they know they are stronger than us. Our basics were terrible. We lost. Game over. Bowl it is.

Why didn't we use the bench? The team has more than 7 players.

Is the captaincy a burden to Khayange. He was a pale shadow again.

Kenya vs Scotland - The Scots have become our customers. I don't think they like us very much. Another scrappy (painful to watch) victory over them. Nyambu came out of nowhere to save our blushes.

Kenya vs France - Bowled and out in the bowl semi our participation in George came to a disappointing close.

We Kenya Fanatics were naturally disappointed by the teams performance especially after the highs of Dubai.

However after having thought it over and seen the repeats at Mwenda's with my mama toe in toe, I believe there were important lessons to learn from the George debacle.

The team were obviously having a lean period in George. They looked tired and homesick. One wonders whether they had overtrained or were affected by the fact that none of the leading teams wanted to be their sparring partners before the tournament began. Was the hotel food not to their liking anymore? Some ugali and sukuma may have been lacking.

We must commend our performance. As a completely amatuer team we are able to rub shoulders with the pros. Being professional (to quote) is not about about how much money you get but rather how much time without other distractions our players are able to put to rugby. One guesses that our players train more when they are out of the country than when they are here in Kenya.

Mentally we need to be strong and develop the ability to play two good tournaments in a row at the same level. Unfortunately for us now as we are no longer a dark horse, every game is do or die!

Guess its back to basics for the team and back to books for me. Engineers have it rough and fortunately for us the mamas love sophiticated jamas. This masomo is hard, but what to do!

To the Ayimba crew, well done. You have represented well. I guess its us fans who have very high expectations of the team. We know we will get there!

This is one weekend the team needed to have back-up generators in them.

George 7's Update - Kenya 14 France 19

Well, that's the end of the road for this weekend.  My Weekly Ramble when I'm calm.  Try to have a good weekend.

George 7's Update - Kenya 19 Scotland 12

It must be very tiring being a Kenyan fan this weekend.  Ben Nyambu pulled this one out of the fire at the death, literally.  We're really struggling to find our form, the backs/speedsters seem out of it and our concentration just is not there.  We meet France in the Semi Finals of the Bowl Competition.

George 7's Update - Kenya 12 Samoa 17

We've just failed to fire.  We're now resigned to the bowl competition.  More updates later.

George 7's Update - Kenya 19 Wales 12

Not too impressive but we'll take the win. Now that Portugal have beaten Samoa, are we in for a dramatic finish? 20:54 EAT the time.

George 7's Update - Kenya 12 Portugal 14

A good start followed by a pedestrian 10 minutes saw us lose this match.  Our now continuing problem, the kick offs was again a pain.  We were also lousy at the breakdown, conceding easy possession.

Next game Wales at 16:49 EAT.

All Set For George

The boys are all set for George.  Reports that seem negative are actually an encouragement for the lads.  We just hope the fatigue of last weekend is all gone and they are fresh and ready to tackle all that come their way.  Matches begin tomorrow and end on Saturday.  Tomorrow we play Portugal at 13.43, Wales at 16.49 and finally Samoa at 20.54, all times EAT.  

As usual updates on this site after the matches as usual.

Weekly Ramble

Just a sad state of affairs. You can have all the talent, ability and desire in the world, but if you don't have the time, it all amounts to nothing.

I once played rugby sevens. I was not a very good player, but the team I played for won a tournament here and there. We barely trained for sevens. We used our God given talent in the increased space to make the game entertaining and interesting. Without major training, we were not able to make the long passes I now see, or keep defending phase after phase without losing our defensive patterns. We maybe had one sporadic try scorer, the rest of us content to get the ball to him and let him run.

That has all changed now. That there is a Rugby Sevens World Cup just goes to show the importance of the event. That only limited number of teams get the opportunity to compete in such an event makes it all the more desirable. And that Rugby is only the third sport in the country to qualify for any World Cup should make it the focus of our entire nation. When a country wins one gold medal at the Olympics, they are feted like gods. Yet, just by qualifying and having the opportunity to appear at a World Cup should be a reason to pull out the candles. I don't think the same is happening in this country.

Our performance in Dubai this last weekend was amazing, if not astounding. That a country made up of 100% amateur rugby players can rub shoulders with full professionals must have shocked the entire world. By the way, for the uninitiated, being professional does not merely mean being paid to play rugby, it means that nothing else is allowed to come between you and your playing rugby. It means you must dedicate most of your time to training, getting fit and generally playing rugby. Not so our players who have to juggle school, work and other commitments. I am sure if you calculated the total time our players spend on average on rugby, it would be something like 10-20% the time the players they come up against spend! And yet we stand side by side with them, showing them we can take as much as they give, and then give our own also.

Where am I headed with this? It is clear we have the skill, talent, ability and desire to beat any team in the IRB circuit. What prevents us from doing this is just two things that the professionals have time to spend on and perfect. Conditioning and mental skills training. We are not able to consistently play at the same intensity. We are also not able to consistently take the pitch in the same frame of mind. How else do you explain contrasting performances by the same team simply hours apart? Does anyone realise that if we created the time we would have a real chance at the Rugby Sevens World Cup, as has been espoused by the coach and several players? Is it in anyone's power to create or provide for that time? Here the buck stops squarely on two shoulders. The KRFU Chairman and the Minister for Youth and Sports. They should have the vision and the ability to make it happen. All we need is focus for the two months prior to the World Cup and our country will be great again!

The Weekend - Desert Storm!

The CAT was ok, I hope I pass. Engineering is a tricky course at times but I'm confident of a good mark. Einstein is my inspiration in my times of desperation.

Thursday night I decided to go watch 'Quantum of Solace' with my ex. I was on my best behaviour as my hopes were high on some scrummaging. Movie was good but that was the better part of the evening. My ex bumped into her current guy at the movies and the drama reached high levels. I being the spare (original) wheel was surprised to find my ex had already found another fella.

I thought breakups were more difficult for chicks than guys. Well as an engineer one learns nothing is improbable and everything is possible. My plans with the ex went up in smoke as she had caught her man redhanded. I slinked back to Box where my mama was happy to see me and greet me with open arms... (yote).

Friday and Saturday saw the two of us at K1 where we were the real Kenya Fanatics. I want to write about just three moments.

1. Kenya - New Zealand
The commentators rubbished our chances but the boys played one of their best ever games. They took it to New Zealand right up in the middle and led 12-0 at one stage. Everything New Z tried ended up in smoke as the defence cool and organised held firm. 12-7 at half time we were ready to kill them off in the second half.

Nothing really impressive about the New Zealanders this time round (though they are my favourite team other than Kenya) it was unbelievable they cheated in order to win the game. Offsides, dummy runners and hands in the rucks yet the referee fearing a major upset was on the cards did nothing to prevent it. All the 50-50 calls to my disgust went to New Zealand. Shame on you ref!

At 17-14 with Kenya ahead it was ours yet NZ scored a lucky try to go 21-17 ahead. We then had plenty of possesion but that magical moment didn't happen. We lost the battle but we are very much in the war.

A bit of friendly advice. We need to work on our composure and absorb the pressure. At times when we were ahead we panicked with the possesion we had. On the pitch we need to change our game plan at times and keep the opposition guessing our next moves. We played too deep I thought as it was dangerously close to our tryline and that may have cost us. A kick and chase would have come handy as on that day we had the legs over New Zealand.

Kudos to the boys as they made us proud. Our day is getting closer and not far we shall be on top of the world. Injera, Asego and Opondo (K'Opondo) were my stars. The captain Khayange was average though it may have been the burden of balancing captaincy and playing. Mwanja was definitely missed at times. The rest of the boys were brilliant.

2. Kenya - South Africa
Having qualified for the main cup quarters after beating Arabian Gulf and Scotland, we never arrived at this game. South Africa consider us a threat and they play very hard to beat us. Quite hard if I may just emphasize. A good team we are but to show the class we have we have to make it 3 on 3 during day one. The psychological preparations need to go higher. South Africa are very beatable.

The lesson learnt during the Dubai 7's is Kenya must be able to play like the way they played against New Zealand every game.

3. All Blacks vs England (15's version)
The game played at Twickenham confirmed the following. England are crap. England are not very clever. England play Queen and country rugby. England play guts and glory. England dont know about the ELV's. Thats why South Africa and the wobbly Australians were able to beat them.

The All Blacks on the other hand are pure class. To hell with the World Cup, we are the best team in the world. Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Brad Thon, Maa Nonu , Mils Muliaina and Joe (my hero) Rockoko together with the other All Blacks are simply a class act in rugby union. No team comes second or third to them. 32-6 final score was just to make sure they dont cry to much. Grand Slam in the bag. We move on towards 2011.

After K1 my mama and I endedup at Mwenda's to do cocktails and set the mood for proper celebration for Kenya and the All Blacks. And kweli we did 'crouch, pause and engaged'.

I cant wait to watch the George 7's this weekend as I'm confident the Ayimba crew will be up for it. Desert Storm mission accomplished now its the turn of Egoli.

How Has HIV/AIDS Affected Rugby?

Today is World Aids Day. I just felt that in solidarity with the infected and affected, I should do a post on how I feel HIV/AIDS has affected Rugby, and maybe specifically in Kenya.

Since the discovery of AIDS in the early eighties, a lot of confusion existed as to mode of transmission and people it infected. Primarily infected in the Western World were gays and homosexuals, primarily males. But infection in Africa showed it was mainly heterosexuals who were infected. This meant that anybody was at risk of HIV infection. Also initially thought was that the only mode of transmission was through sexual contact. It thus appeared that to stay HIV free, all you needed to do was to avoid contact with an HIV positive person. Then came the realisation that the virus resided in all bodily fluids and the panic spread. Could you contract it by handshake, or by kissing, or by touching contaminated bodily fluids? How then would this affect contact sports? The fear caused by this was real, however there was the upturn. People who play heavy contact sports seem to have a "death wish" so to speak. They are already fatalistic in their approach to life and issues, so what's the big deal. But at the back of their minds, the fear always remains. I sat in a panel discussing a mission statement to be used by the KRFU and they were hesitant to use the word safe, or safety in their statements as there is no guarantee of an individuals safety on the pitch. However, safety does not mean keeping one safe, but also helping them do play/live safely. Hence certain changes had to be made in our lifestyles and ways of playing the game.

The first change that comes to mind was the giant bathtub that used to be in the KRFU changing rooms. Many a day were soaking and bonding sessions held in that tub after several bruising matches. That quickly came to a halt. The next thing that comes to the fore was the ready availability of condoms. That rugby players are considered a promiscuous lot may be true or a myth, but I'd say they were the first beneficiaries of government and donor funded condom distribution programmes. That the players used the same condoms as garters for their socks may not have been encouraging, but at least they had access to the condoms. The third and most significant change that occured was on the playing field. Away went the "magic sponge". No wonder players are now so soft...

The next changes came via rule changes. No longer was a player allowed to have an open wound on the field. Any bruises were to be covered up and if any blood was flowing, the player had to leave the field. That gave rise to the "blood bin" where you could now replace such a player with another one for a period of upto ten minutes as you stopped the blood flow (previously so long as you were bleeding and did not faint, you could actually just stay on the field). This one law change may have significantly changed rugby because in the past, you could only replace a player that is so injured, he can take no further part in the match!! With this opening, teams now made tactical substitutions under the cover of the "blood bin" forcing the IRB to introduce rules or laws that allowed for tactical substitutions anyway!

With our national statistics of infection rates of upto 8%, it is clear that any random sample of the population will produce a similar statistic. It is thus obvious that there are HIV positive people playing rugby and involved in rugby in Kenya. From my observations, I have never seen any person treat another one in a discriminative manner or in suspicious manner and I believe that Rugby is one way in which we can show the rest of the country how to live with each other, irrespective of status.

On the 20th World Aids Day, we remember all those who may have succumbed to the ailment. We condole those who have lost loved ones to the ailment. We remember those who may be living with the ailment. We support those fighting to stay alive despite the ailment. Last but not least, we support and encourage those trying to find a cure and those treating and providing comfort to those afflicted.