Over the course of the current series of posts, I will be looking at the situation of various Kenyan Sports, as the nation attempts to move forward in the wake of the global covid-19 pandemic. In the last post I looked at the situation in cricket. In this post I will look at rugby, the most progressively managed sport in recent times.
The overall picture
There is no doubt that, relative to some other sports, there is a considerably more stability and direction in the running and management of the sport of Rugby in Kenya. Whereas there are differences at board level, especially considering how competitive elections to lead such organizations in Kenya can be, by and large the game has continued to go from strength to strength in the years leading up to 2020.
Members of Kenya’s men’s National Rugby team (Source: ragahouse)
However, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought on field activities almost to a complete stand still. It will be imperative that the KRU is able to act decisively to protect the gains it has made in the past two decades from being lost to the pandemic’s ill effects on the game, especially with major revenue sources such as the Safari Sevens facing possible cancellation
The Domestic Game
The Kenya Cup, as well as all rugby competitions for the 2019/20 season, was curtailed by the Kenya Rugby Union almost as soon as the Kenya Government instituted restrictions on public gatherings. Additionally, the Sevens Rugby circuit for this year has also had to be put on ice. Through the Kenya Cup official site, a statement from the Kenya Rugby Union Secretary notes that any resumption of competition will be subject to guidance from the Ministry of Sports and Health. Currently there is a taskforce examining the prospect of re-authorising contact sports that will table its recommendations soon.
The National Teams
World Rugby, the world governing body of the game, may have been more fortunate with the timing of the Covid-19 pandemic being far away enough from its flagship Rugby World Cup for any disruptions to be worked out of the system over a stretched out period of 3 years. The process of filling the 8 pending of 20 slots for the 2023 XVs World Cup should begin in earnest next year.
The World Sevens circuit for 2020 was curtailed, with New Zealand declared winners of both the mens and women series. In light of the uncertainty surrounding the future, Kenya Sevens team lost its technical director and the post is currently being advertised on the KRU website.
According to a statement of the KRU official website, World Rugby has set up a working group to review the schedule for the World Sevens Circuit for a ‘safe, secure and impactful return to action.’ This working group will work out the modalities of the 2021 World Sevens circuit as a build up to the Olympic games in Tokyo later that year.
Off the field
While the Covid-19 pandemic represent a significant challenges in getting rugby players on the field. That has not stopped rugby stakeholders continuing to lay (at least some) groundwork for expanding of the game. For instance the massive marketing deal signed by Homeboyz Rugby, the incorporation of an Administration Police Rugby affiliate in the KRU, and events such as the upcoming Anti-doping event with the Anti-Doping Authority of Kenya.
Tag: 7-a-side Rugby
2011
The year of our lord two thousand and eleven will be an eventful year for Kenyan sports teams and sports people. This post is a quick run through the major events in a number of sports that will either happen in Kenya, or involve Kenyan sports teams and people.
Athletics
This year’s big event is the World Athletics championships in South Korea. At the last World Championship event in Berlin, Kenya’s middle distance athletes were caught up in a pile ups that cost some opportunities in the 800m and 1500 events. These pile ups, in this bloggers opinion, were probably the result of the anxiety of the competitors to replicate the ‘front running’ tactics, which had been so decisive in determining the outcomes of these same races in the Beijing Olympics a year earlier. But I digress, this year see Kenya going into the World Championships on the crest of a wave of success started in the 2007 World Championships. However aside from the fact that Kenya will (as usual) have serious gold medal contenders (if not the outright favourites) all the way from 800m to the marathon, this blogger doubts it will be enough to achieve, what Athletics Kenya officials have bragged was the aim at the last three World championships, outright victory. After all, even at the recent Africa Athletics Championships, we still struggled to make much an impact in the field events. Success at the international level in the field events is the real key to claiming topping the medals table at the World Athletics Championships.
On the Local Scene, the Nairobi Marathon enters its 7th year, with only one athlete so far successfully defending his title. Standard Chartered, I believe will continue to be the title sponsors for the event, which will also double up as a ve`1nue for them to raise awareness about their campaign to raise funding for children will eye infections. I would like to venture to predict that before 3 years are out someone will emerge from this event to claim a major World marathon.
Cricket
Its World Cup year and Kenya will be making the 5th consecutive appearance in the blue ribbon event. Unless, by some miracle, Kenya is granted full membership (and test status) by the International Cricket Council it may also be the last time Kenya gets to shine at this tournament. Aside from that there is also the Intercontinental Cup, a tournament which Kenya, have not yet won.
On the local scene, June? Marks the first full year of Cricket Kenya with Tom Sears as Chief Executive Officer. He came with a C.V. littered with incidents of turning moribund and struggling institutions into lean, mean money making machines , this blogger reckons that this assignment will be his toughest yet. Despite being the first sport in Kenya to desegregate its institutions, Kenya’s cricket administrators have historically failed in getting the game to capture the nation’s imagination. Something particularly evident when the national team making a World Cup semi-final and still it failed to garner a significant growth in player numbers.
On the local scene, without an overall national league, focus will be on the NPCA leagues. Kanbis look like there may be part way to establishing dominance over the Super league, taking over from Swamibapa at the turn of the millennium. Yet one cannot discount a strong challenge from Swamibapa, Kongonis CC or even Stray Lions.
Football
Harambee stars will already be part way through their first assignment by the time this post comes up. The Nile Basin Invitational in Egypt will see Zedekiah Otieno leading a relatively young squad still hurting from their worst CECAFA Tusker cup showing in awhile. The Gor Mahia Coach will no doubt be looking to reinstate a feeling of self confidence and purpose in a side that was lacking both in December. After all Kenya will be needing both in plentiful supply if we are to realise our objective of making the Africa Cup of nations for the first time since 2004.
This year Kenya faces tough home and away matches against Angola in the ACN qualifiers. Harambee stars are bottom of the group with just a single point and without a goal yet to their name. This blogger would assume that a home win and an away draw as the minimum necessary results needed to kick some life back into the qualifying campaign.
This year’s Kenya Premier league season starts on the promise of one of the best organised (crowd management issues aside) campaigns in a long time. Kenyans are really starting to take an interest in their long forgotten local teams, not that there is anything wrong with supporting foreign clubs. My favourite team, Mathare United, had a uniquely mediocre campaign last season. I hope they rediscover the form that saw them win the league in 2008.
Off the field, FIFA appointed a committee to oversee elections that are supposed to close a dark chapter of wrangling in local football administration. The FKL, which FIFA was a part of creating, has been cornered into accepting a poll, an (bizarrely enough) on FIFA’s instruction converting into an association from a private limited company. But we all know how elections go in Africa, don’t
Rugby
I start with the sevens team. Even though points say that the last World Series Campaign was Kenya’s best ever, the first two legs of the new season were a shock to the system which I hope the KRU take seriously enough to examine the real strengths and weaknesses of the game, vis-a-vis, the level of competition Kenya are meant to be keeping pace with now. Then there is the XVs team, what became of all those pledges to get test matches against European opposition (YES NINAKUMBUKA MULISEMA!) Will we be able to hang on to both the Victoria and Elgon Cups? It was no mean feat winning them both in the first place, yet I am not the only one who noticed that even within the sunshine of that success there were some pretty large dark clouds.
The Kenya Cup is back, and the usual suspects will be fighting out for the title. The questions on my mind are, will local TV stations like K24 sustain extend the in this competition
there is also the Bamburi Super Series, which goes from strength to strength every year. Will local broadcasters show the same interest they did last year in covering the tournament?
Others
there is the 2011 Kenya National rally championships. The big story there so far is the return Of Ian Duncan to the Group N category, driving a Mitsubishi Evo 9. There is also a growing renaissance of sorts in Karate, basketball and volleyball to keep an eye on. The Karatekas have in particular been very vocal in the press about the scale of their ambitions for this year. Talk in the press about spreading the game to all disciplined forces and what not. However implementation, as some have said is only the last 98% of a project. Last but not least is the East Africa Classic Safari Rally. This year’s evernt, with Kenya Airways as title sponsors could do well in
Real quickie…
Been back in Kenya since mid July and figures i would post a quick one regards to the brief time online and to dust a few of the old cobwebs accumulating on this blog page.
First of all I am on twitter where i have been busy (@sportinkenya) so you can follow me there.
This will be a quick run through all the major events in Kenyan sports in the past month and a half.
The cricket team did well to pick up and away draw in Ireland and a comprehensive win against Canada in the Intercontinental Cup but put the ODI form esp with the increasingly frequent batting collapses is a major cause for concern
FKL should do better that organizing friendly matches on inconvenient dates in dubiously opaque situations. having friendlies at at all is a good thing but Mr Hey and co on the Harambee stars bench need to have more access to all their players so it would make sense to put the games on FIFA allocated dates to guarantee they are all available.
KPL season reaching its climax and Sofapaka have come from nowhere to not only rule the roost on top of the table but they are setting standards money wise. Old timers like Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards take note…
AK did us all proud with the third place finish at the IAAF World championships but surely How is it we could not produce a single athlete in any of the field events needs to be investigated. Can’t we even find a single championship quality long jumper at the very least
The Elgon Cup concludes this weekend and prospects for its future and in the balance money wise. Surely what are KRFU doing with Safari sevens that cannot be replicated in the Elgon Cup?
On Boxing Conjestina Achieng is back in the ring good times…
And finally to Cricket Kenya. WAPI HIYO ELITE LEAGUE?
Well Done again
After enduring a difficult visit to Wellington during the New Zealand sevens Kenya bounced back in some style in San Diego California chalking up a first ever win against Canada and yet another upset over former series championa England in the Main Vup Quarterfinals to get to only their second ever Main Cup semi finals ever. They now sit in 5th place in the overall rankings and have now overhauled their highests ever season points tally with Full details available here as well as national coach Ben Ayimba’s reaction
Back down to earth with a thud
Kenya were last week served with a dose of reality after their world conquering feats of the first two legs of the IRB when finished as losing finalists in the bottom tier shield competition in the New Zealand leg. They therefore remain on 12 points in the overall standing and slip to 8th place from 5th ahead of their next assignment in USA where they open in a less difficult Pool C where their opponents will be Argentina, Canada and Chile.
Crunch time again for 7s lovers
After a thrilling World Cup that will surely go down as one of the greatest ever for those of you who support South Africa, England, Argentina, Fiji or just plain love a good upset the attention switches to the new 2007-8 Rugby Sevens season where shock upsets almost certainly as usual will be a way of life.
Having acquired the status of one of a core team last season saw Kenya’s 7s teams reach their finish once again in the top ten with the climax being the quarter-final victory over England in Australia that saw them qualify for their first ever main cup semifinals. However if they are to repeat theri heroics of last year and make more progress in this version of the game thay will have their work cut out for them as the first two tournaments in Dubai and George? see them placed in very competitive groups In Dubai, Kenya face tough South Sea islanders Samoa, Wales, and a potentially very dangerous opponent in the USA in Pool C, but it is in the second event in George where the Africans will surely find the going tough as they face defending World Champions New Zealand, England and Zimbabwe.
With the season opening Dubai event kicking off in late November and the George round later on in December Kenya’s management team have selected a squad that is brimming with the experience of the Simiyu brothers,as well as a host of new talent in Mean Machine forward Wilson K’Opondo, Cyprian Shimenga (Nakuru RFC), George Mbaye (Mwamba) and Samuel Wefwafwa (Impala) as well as Blak Blad wing Lawrence Tesot. Hopefully if they get to show their stuff on the global stage they will be able to make the step up to international sevens rugby and give a few of the regular startrs a run for their money
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