Ayumba Ayodi
18 December 2011
It goes without saying that the Kenya sevens team made one of the most disappointing starts to the International Rugby Board (IRB) World Seven Series season.
That the team only managed five points and only one win in nine preliminaries matches to slump to the unfamiliar Shield category in the three legs in Australia, Dubai and South Africa was below everyone’s expectations.
The show was a pale shadow of the team that set the global sevens rugby arena ablaze with major upsets in the 2008/2009 season. The team made history not only in reaching it’s maiden Cup final in Adelaide but set up all African derby against South Africa for the first time in IRB history. Besides, they reached two Cup semi-finals in Wellington and Hong Kong and main Cup quarterfinals in Dubai, USA and Scotland. They only missed main Cup in George, South Africa and London in a season where they beat New Zealand, Fiji, South Africa, England, Argentina and France among other heavyweights.
What of the team causing more ripples to power to the 2009 Rugby World Cup semi-finals after stunning by the then defending champions Fiji 26-7 in the Cup quarterfinals.
However, the performance under new head coach Mitch Ocholla didn’t happen overnight hence the need to know where the rain started beating Kenya sevens. Apparently, it’s after the illustrious 2008/2009 season that Kenya’s performance started to wane at the end of the 2009/2010 down to the 2010/2011 season and further.
The current performance is a reflection of the lack of structures that could have been in place to mould the new talent that was coming through and avoid the current vacuum. There was an atmosphere of contentment when Kenya was at the top and little attention was paid on vital feeder systems that could have churned out new players. Despite the enormous talent, few players were groomed to take over in the absence of Collins Injera, Humphrey Kayange and Lavin Asego among others. The few that were picked stayed on the bench for a long time before being thrown into the system.
With only the skipper Sidney Ashioya and Horace Otieno possessing experienced hands, the rest were virtually new in the series. The team’s ball handling skills especially in the passes and retention were poor. They were slow in breakdowns losing possession easily and their commitment to tackle wasn’t there.
Ocholla acknowledges that the outcome from the three legs was below his expectation but urges for patience in the sense of growth and development.
Ocholla rues the unavailability of some experienced players in the likes of Biko Adema, Lavin Asego, Collins Injera and Ben Nyambu. More so, the absence of conditioning coach Geoffrey Kimani and analyst/statistician Felix Ochieng, who had been left behind. The new look series that stretched to three legs from the two proved lethargic to the youngsters but Patrice Agunda, Oscar Ouma, Ken Moseti and David Ombachi rose to the occasion.
Ocholla now has an eight week window to analyse his charges performance and put into use the feedback from tacticians from New Zealand, South Africa and Fiji to make the desired comeback.
Kenya Rugby Union chairman, Mwangi Muthee reckons that inexperience contributed to the lukewarm start but expressed confidence in the team and the technical bench.
“What the technical bench requires is empowerment to fully take charge and build confidence so as to come out with the winning formula or style they want,” said Muthee.
“It’s a challenge we must embrace but it also depends on the availability of players,’ says Ocholla.
Kenya Rugby Union chairman, Mwangi Muthee reckons that inexperience contributed to the lukewarm start but expressed confidence in the team and the technical bench. “What the technical bench requires is empowerment to fully take charge and build confidence so as to come out with the winning formula or style they want,” said Muthee.
Even though few changes are required ahead of the next round in Wellington, Las Vegas and Hong Kong in February and March, Muthee cautions that they should not lose focus on rebuilding. “We need to learn fast from France and Australia, who have been going through the same process after lucklustre shows in the previous seasons,” says Muthee.
Muthee notes that rebuilding can be traumatic especially when the youngsters are thrown to the deep end without senior players in their midst. “It was a blessing in disguise since they got first hand experience, but we should avoid slumping back to where we were in the late 90s,” cautions Muthee.
Muthee notes that IRB World Sevens Series has become competitive hence the need to come up with refined plans for coaching and improved equipment. “We can’t play today and expect to harvest the same day. One way of improving is by making the team professional and thanks to Kenya Airways will make that dream come true,” says Muthee.
Kenya Airways has already unveiled a sponsorship package of Sh 290m to facilitate the avenue to full professionalism in the text two years.
Among the immediate measures, Muthee says is for the national sevens rugby team to take precedence over any other local assignments whether in training or participation.
“There shall be no discussion when it comes to national duty since players must be put in the right programme in line with our dream to full professionalism,” says Muthee.
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