Michael Mundia Kamau

 P.O. Box 58972 00200 City Square

 Nairobi Kenya 

12th December 2003 

EDWARD ROMBO AND KENYAN RUGBY 

I throughly enjoyed reading Charles Nyende's feature on Edward Rombo's illustrious rugby career appearing in the "Daily Nation" of 8th December 2003 (see http://www.nationaudio.com/News/DailyNation/08122003/Sports/TheBigInterview0812200312.html). Edward Rombo is indeed an icon of Kenyan rugby and it is regrettable that his legacy has been swept under the carpet. For him to have risen to the world stage and played alongside world greats of the 1990s such as New Zealand's John Gallagher is a tribute to Kenyan rugby, and is something I indeed felt compelled to note in a June 2000 article titled "A Review of Kenyan Rugby" (see http://www.scrum.com/features/kenya1.asp).

I have known Edward Rombo impersonally for 20 years since that eventful day mentioned in 1983 when Nairobi School upset Lenana School in a crucial tie. I fully understand why Edward Rombo places this day at the top of his triumphs in as much as I fully remember his surgically executed intercept and sprint down the left wing that resulted in the first of two successive tries against a devasted Lenana School. A generation of ex-Lenana school boys from that time including myself, have never quite forgiven Rombo for this, though respected him for it nonetheless, in as much as Rombo shall always remain an icon and a hero of ex-Nairobi school boys of the time.

Edward Rombo worked very hard for his success and it is important that aspiring Kenyan rugby players are made aware of this fact. Another aspect that struck me about Rombo was his focus. I had the opportunity in 1988 of training in Nairobi's Canyon Health Gym where Rombo and his University of Nairobi Mean Machine team mates did their weight training workouts in those days. Many of us in the gym including Rombo's team mates, were preoccupied with lifting heavy poundages instead of focusing on strength enhancement. Rombo on the other hand and against pressure from gym mates, restricted his weight-training workouts to strength enhancement, shunning the heavy poundages associated with body-builders. People made fun of Rombo's brief weight-training workouts with moderate weights, but did not when Leeds R.F.C. signed him up on a lucrative contract two years later.

I also support some of Rombo's attacks on the Kenya Rugby Football Union (K.R.FU.). For instance, the K.R.F.U. should have used Rombo's signing at Leeds R.F.C. to showcase the game of rugby in Kenya, and build it to much greater and much bigger levels. In baffling circumstances at the time, the K.R.F.U. was instead at the centre of a controversy barring Rombo clearance to sign up for Leeds R.F.C. ! In retrospect, this would have been one of the most opportune moments for a surge in Kenyan rugby with the K.R.F.U. showcasing a brilliant hard working young man from a middle class background, making it to the world stage.

The game of rugby in Kenya has not stagnated however and this is where the K.R.F.U. must be credited. The sevens version has undoubtedly recorded significant strides and credit goes to coach Bill Githinji together with the current generation of players such as Oscar Osir, Benjamin Ayimba and Kanyi Gitonga. They are pioneering exciting new changes in Kenyan rugby. I disagree with Rombo on this account because Kenya like Fiji, can use the sevens version to build and showcase the game.

The K.R.F.U. and rugby fraternity in Kenya at large still however needs to work double time to build a strong and supportive presence in the community. The K.R.F.U. needs to build strong societal friendships that will form the basis of support and growth. If the community in Kenya is shown tangible examples like Rombo's, which have resulted in a career, education, training, finance and exposure, then greater societal support shall definitely be forthcoming. This is significant because rugby is still considered a marginal sport in Kenya after athletics, soccer, boxing, volleyball, cricket and hockey. Past links also need to be exploited fully. For instance our current president Mwai Kibaki, presided over the closing ceremony of the Safari Sevens in 1997. Education Minister, Professor George Saitoti also presided over a pre-tournament dinner gala prior to the 1996 Safari Sevens. This is good for the game.

The potential in Kenya is so great it is unbelievable that we are letting it waste away. Some of the most outstanding players in our time came from rural settings where rugby was little known of and little cared about. They joined schools that placed an emphasis on rugby, liked it, and moved on to become stars. If this is not progressive, then I do not know what is. Rombo himself was in Lavington primary school, an urban primary school yes, but one where rugby was not played. Rombo was more of a soccer star in primary school and developed his rugby in high school. One can even argue that Rombo's senior careerwise and agewise, Jackson "Jacko" Omaido, Kenya's former legendary fly-half, had an advantage having attended primary school at rugby playing Hill School, Eldoret, in Kenya's Rift Valley province. The primary responsibility of correcting this disastrous anomaly lies with the Kenya Rugby Football Union. The advantage nowadays however is that many more schools around the country have rugby in their curriculum.

Since going fully professional in the 1995, rugby has also become much more faster, challenging and competitive. It is infact now more difficult for Kenyan players to break onto the world scene then it was during Rombo's time. Namibia's whipping at the just concluded Rugby World Cup 2003 is a clear indication of the huge disparities between the big and small nations. When Namibia toured Kenya in 1993 to play in zonal pre-qualifiers for the 1995 Rugby World Cup, they dazzled spectatators with their skill and superiority. Kenya and Zimbabwe were certainly no match for Namibia, and we now see Namibia being no match for the rest of the world. The International Rugby Board (IRB), proposes a support structure for small nations, but funding for Kenya will only be willingly forthcoming if Kenya for a start, strives to become a top rugby playing nation in Africa.

Edward Rombo is to Kenyan rugby what Kipchoge Keino is to Kenyan athletics, what Joe Kadenge is to Kenyan soccer and what the late Chris Otambo is to Kenyan hockey. Cocky in his day, and one might even say arrogant, Rombo was a skilled and stylish player who personified and accomplished the dreams and aspirations of an entire generation of Kenyan rugby players.

Michael Mundia Kamau