Weekly Ramble

Good news. Kenya Rugby cleared out the ruck boards at the SOYA awards. We got three awards including the ultimate one Sportsman of the Year. My fellow blogger, Sportskenya.blogspot.com, got some right and I had been tempted to say some strong words there, but the one he thought we would win hands-down, I'm glad we did not. What has happened in the last twelve months has perhaps let people realise we are not really the best run federation. And with our new status as an Olympic sport, maybe the clubs will now be let down for a while because the in-fighting in the union is amazing. The lure of an all expenses paid trip to Rio de Janiero, though more than six years away has people digging in to stay in the union forever... ooopps, I digress.

Kudos Collins Injera, Sportsman of the Year, Benjamin Ayimba, Coach of the Year and the entire Shujaa team, Team of the Year. And that was just the start. The country top honcho saw fit to reward three rugby personalities with the Order of the Golden Warrior award, though I am yet to independently confirm that. That is great. And the gauntlet is now thrown forward. We must live up to the billing.

The Western Union National Sevens Circuit also came to a close with Strathmore University winning the diadem by claiming three out of the five titles at stake. The circuit was a real revelation, as well as a real eye opener. Our National Sevens side Shujaa also put up a credible performance in the opening two legs of the IRB World Sevens Series and lie a credible sixth with one plate semi final appearance and one main cup semi final appearance. The revelation of the local circuit was the immense amount of talent available. The eye opener is that we do need the circuit to develop or even just to expose talent. Most pundits have it that we do not have a strong enough bench at the senior level, if that be the case then we need the circuit to fill those spaces. Though methinks different, and believe we are not giving the bench a chance to grow!!

The other thing that shocked me is that a team that came last in the fifteen a side league, won the seven a side league!! And what does that mean? Does it imply it is a totally different game? Were the players totally different? Is seven a side rugby the great equaliser? And which then is greater than the other? These, I think, are all questions we need to answer as we chart our path to improving Rugby in Kenya.