Weekly Ramble

I have always suspected but now I think it is confirmed. The KRFU has no vision for 15-a-side rugby and by extension Rugby in Kenya!

I have been poring over things in my head and bits and pieces of information that keep coming my way and it is astounding to say the least. The KRFU lives for two things! The IRB Sevens Circuit and the annual Safaricom Sevens! That I have no doubt in my mind. Everything else is incidental. Like when SuperSport came in to televise the Kenya Cup finals live, all of a sudden the KRFU wanted to take charge. From having watched the entire preliminary games from their cushy containers offices, they were now dictating how much of the gate money participating teams would get (no prizes for guessing who would keep the bulk) and selling banner advertising and vending (food and other) services. Talk of reaping where you have not sown.. but I digress as usual.

Last week my Ramble was my thoughts on National XV's coach and I hinted a bit as to what I thought. I have always said it and it pains me that our entire local rugby existence is geared towards three days in a year! The attempted pitch closure this week gave the game away. When the pitch is not in use, it is simply looked at. Even despite the good rains we've had since last year, the bare patches on the pitch were not replanted with grass! Reason unknown, yet the pitch was idle for over a month, with rain. Now one month to the event, we are getting stories about six week pitch closures like that is the only thing that matters. Players do not need to train, existing agreements or not and the fact that some teams have been allowed to train betrays the real reason for the exercise. Pitch revamping world wide is done off season and there is even ample time to relay whole surfaces if need be, not bang in the middle of the season! But then nothing else matters, does it? That those three days of the year consume nearly double our annual budget for running all of rugby including development and other programmes just shows the extent of the gravy train that must be protected at all costs. Just looking at the secrecy of the meetings and the secrecy of the recruitment of personnel and the secrecy of the procurement process to the secrecy of the shortlisted companies is amazing. In all the years of this event I am yet to come across any tenders for goods or services yet we are sure we are getting everything at a competitive price? We shall watch and see. Add to that the fact that the club that wins the National Sevens Circuit no longer has a place in this event, I really start to wonder what role this tournament does is promoting Rugby in Kenya. As a social event, it is great, but what other value it has as a rugby event, I cannot see.

I spent too much space on that one. I was just wondering, even as far as development goes, these two articles here and here made me wonder what we are doing to develop our youngsters as well. I am sure we used to get an invite to the Zimbabwe tournament, but I need correction. In the meantime those not doing anything to promote fifteens rugby in this country will be the same ones with longest faces when the team fails to perform to their expectation.

I am yet to hear of, or see a plan to improve the level of fifteens rugby in this country. The clubs are working overtime to do their bit, but I don't see anything more. Different from the approach used in the sevens, top down, with full support of the union, all I see here is the bottom up approach, with nil support from the union!