It is hard to find any positives where Kenyan rugby is concerned at the moment.
On a different day, we would have been approaching this new month with a lot of positivity and muted excitement as the World Cup repechage and Safari Sevens are less than a week away, while HSBC world rugby sevens series is also kicking off in a month’s time in Dubai.
So why the pessimism?
The reason is that we are being led by a broke union.
All these events require money yet the board is on its knees financially and was recently fundraising to send the team to France for the World Cup qualifiers against Germany, Hong Kong and Canada.
We cannot fault the board for resorting to such desperate measures for an elite sport as the funds to such an event should be provided by the government.
The government could facing financial challenges if the insatiable appetite for Chinese loans is to be used as a gauge, but, analytically speaking, this is fallacious.
The same government did not bat an eyelid in boldly announcing that the entrance fee to a match between the national football team, Harambee Stars, and Ethiopia would be free, with a promise of Sh50 million to the team if they won the match.
Does that sound like a broke government?
The simple truth is that the government treats rugby like the ugly step-sister despite rugby teams performing way better internationally than Harambee Stars over the years.
The same football team always struggles to beat our lowly-ranked neighbours despite all the attention it receives yet our rugby team is only behind South Africa and Namibia in the continent.
The rugby fraternity is always given promises and assurances by the government but when the time comes to walk the talk, we are left on our own.
The national team has not had any friendly matches in preparation for the task in France.
KRU had organized several friendly matches which have all been cancelled other than the match we played in Bucharest Romania against the host where we lost 36 – 5.
Kenya are now expected to embark on their journey to Marseille, France, where they are expected to take part in the repechage tournament which is the final route to the 2019 World Cup.
I suppose all we can do is only wish the Simbas all the best.
Back home, as predicted KCB retained the Impala Floodlit tournament with a win over the host Impala Saracens.
Comically, some fans have suggested the event be moved to the Den and be renamed KCB Floodlit based on the dominance the bankers have had in the event.
Finally, Spain and Portugal are the top teams invited to the Safari Sevens this year, and we have to ask, again, just where are the heavyweights.
This could be due to lack of funds again as stated earlier but I will chalk it up to lack of goodwill by the board to back its own ambition to make the event more than a regional tournament.
I wish the government actually realized what a gem rugby is to this country and put in resources required.
- Advertisement -
