Late, as usual, but here all the same. About a year ago I did a post and was full of praise for our fifteens team, you can find that here. I even went as far as calling them the "best Kenyan Rugby Team ever" and was fully convinced. We attained our highest IRB ranking ever and it looked like we were set to go places. The KRU board then I believe felt the same, but did not know what we needed to do to get us moving. Without firing the current coach, they advertised his job and did not ask him to reapply! Gauging potential? Reactions? Or weighing options? I have no clue, but he was reappointed to "carry on the good work that he was doing". What exactly that statement means is anyone's guess as it implies they have no clue how he is doing it, but are happy with it. It also implies they have no clue how to help, or add onto this work and are ready to let him run, forwards or backwards. In the less than 12 months since, we have played exactly the same opposition, yet our IRB Ranking has plummeted 8 points. Any answers? Or are we still groping with the dark?
To me it is simple what went wrong. I said it after our first game and I'll say it again. The technical team is either lazy or totally inept. Their re-appointment may have brought some laxity in them and I don't know how long their contract extension is. Or are they just tired and going through the paces. Or are they being let down by other supposedly existing arms, like the selectors, hence their current obsession with selecting players as opposed to coaching them. I actually thought that was so two years ago but I was mistaken. When under pressure, we all retreat to our comfort zones, and that is what happened. A player who missed the entire Super Series was suddenly in the starting lineup! A player dropped for unfitness was suddenly fit in 6 days! And the list is endless. Sometimes we just have to bite the bullet for the sake of the future!
We have one more chance, during the CAR tournament. And I wait to see if our mindset will have changed. Do have a good weekend.
2 Comments:
worry not. Manuel Okoth will soon take over as national coach. Quite interesting given that he does not coach Kulabu and hasnt for many years due to his personality issues. Plus his brother is a director at KRU and actually chairs the Technical Committee. Talk about nepotism. Why can't Ogre just be promoted as head coach - he is the most successful kenya coach at XV in the last 3 years. But then again, we never expect Mwangi to do the obvious
Now for sure kenya XVs rugby is going to the dogs. We thought we were voting in the lesser devil bt it seems that they are all of the same calibre if latter isnt a bigger one. Then again to succeed we have to do it wrong enough times till we get it right.
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