The History of Rugby in Kenya
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Rugby was introduced into Kenya at the beginning of the 20th century by British settlers. Indeed before the 1970s rugby in Kenya was played mainly by people of European origin. The Kenya cup featured teams belonging to exclusive clubs such as Nairobi Sports club, Impala , Nondescripts , Kenya Harlequins and a farmers team from Eldoret. Mean Machine RFC a team representing the University of Nairobi was the first team consisting mainly of indigenous Kenyans to compete in the Kenya cup in 1977. Mwamba RFC formed in 1978 was Kenya's first independent team. The 1980s saw a significant rise in the popularity of the sport. However it was mainly concentrated in the Capital City Nairobi. Virtually all the teams participating in the Kenya cup and other KRFU organized tournaments were based in Nairobi. The sport was hardly played in any of the schools outside of Nairobi. Mwamba was the team of the early to mid eighties and 1983 is a year most Mwamba fans will never forget. That year captain Tom Oketch led a star studded Mwamba team which included the likes of Jimmy Owino, Arthur Kibisu, Pritt Nyandatt, Andy Kimwele and Andy Mwenesi among others to win the Kenya cup in grand style. The 4th All Africa games was Kenya's first chance at testing their strength against other national teams in a competitive tournament. Kenya finished 3rd behind Zimbabwe and Madagascar who surprised Kenya in the last game of the tournament. That squad included among others Mike "tank" Otieno , "Mad" Max Muniafu and Walter Omaido. In the 1990s there has been an explosion in the popularity of the sport countrywide. Several teams based outside Nairobi now participate in the Kenya cup including Mombasa sports club , Kisumu RFC and Nakuru RFC. At high school level, several upcountry schools are now narrowing the gap between them and the traditionally dominant schools from Nairobi. In 1990/91, it was Mean Machine who dominated the proceedings in the Kenya rugby scene, led by indomitable winger, Edward Rombo amd boasting a team that supplied the bulk of the Kenya national team including John Ohaga, Oliver Khabure, Gordon Akwera, Edwin Obuya , Ken Kanyi and Martin Ndeda, Machine went on to win the Kenya cup and dominate all local tournaments. In 1993 , Kenya hosted the first leg of the first ever world cup qualifiers which pitted them against Zimbabwe, Namibia and an expatriate team from the Middle East. The result was an whitewashing which exposed the gap between Kenya and Africa's elite teams. At The 1997 qualifiers Kenya recorded a significant improvement including a memorable 37-18 win over the Middle East Union. Among the players who played a significant role in this campaign were winger Edward Rombo , Tolbert Onyango, Paul Murunga, Sammy Khakame and Jeff Tolo.
Several European sides toured Kenya in the 80s and 90s. These include Pontypool, Royal Navy, and Penguins. With the advent of professionalsm, the number of touring sides has dwindled. Following the introduction of World cup qualifiers in Africa, Kenya had an opportunity to test its strength against other African Nations. While they easily overcame challenges from nations like Botwana, it was soon apparent that kenya could not match the likes of Zimbabwe , Namibia, Morocco and Cote'd Ivoire. The latter two of whom possess several players plying their trade in the French League. As the 20th century fades into the new millenium, Kenya and other developing nations are taking initiatives to improve the standards of the game at home. kenya is set to participate in an all African rugby tournament that will involve other African nations divided ino two divisions. It has already started participating regularly in the newly created World sevens circuit. On its debut, Kenyan players were subjected to a rude awakening ! They were not prepared for the intensity of International sevens rugby. Their sub par fitness levels , tactical awareness and defence(tackling) was ruthlessly exposed by the likes of South Africa and Australia. It was soon apparent that plenty of work had to be done to raise the level of the game at home. Nevertheless Kenya recorded some creditable performances against Japan and Namibia. At the beginning of the new millenium Kenya hosted the qualifiers for the world sevens championships. Competing included Zimbabwe, Cote'd Ivoire , Tunisia and Namibia among others. Kenya gave a creditable performance finishing second to Zimbabwe and thus qualifying for the Sevens world cup.
In 2003 Kenya recorded a milestone when they beat Zimbabwe 32-24. It marked the first time ever that Kenya had ever beaten Zimbabwe. Quite an achievement considering that 1o years earlier, Kenya had lost to Zimbabwe 42-7.
Later in the year Kenya lost 38-10 to the world cup bound Namibia who 10 years earlier had beaten them 63-9. 2004 was a banner year for the Kenya sevens team. That year saw Kenya invited to 7 tournaments in the IRB circuit. They lacked consistency but managed to record some surprise wins over giants like Australia, France and Tonga. Kenya also won the safari sevens in style in a tournament that also included the revered British Army, Western Stormers of South Africa and the Emerging SpringBoks
In the world cup qualifiers held in Zambia, Kenya qualified in style beating Zambia 17-0, Swaziland 17-0, Uganda 31-5, Zimbabwe 33-7 and Namibia 33-14. The tournament proved that Kenya had finally emerged as the top rugby sevens nation on the continent besides South Africa. Read the tournament report here |
