I started out writing this article to make the point that the Kenya rugby sevens team of 2013 is the most accomplished national team Kenya has ever produced. Then it occurred to me that the Kenya sevens team has accomplished feats that no other African national team in any sport has accomplished with the exception of South Africa rugby teams which can hardly be considered African teams. For the purposes of comparison, it makes more sense to compare the Kenya sevens team to African teams north of the Limpopo, specifically those that comprise mostly of indigenous Africans.
World Cup semi final
Reaching the semi final of any global tournament is a significant feat. Hardly any other African team has accomplished this. The only exception being the Kenya cricket team in 2003 which reached the cricket world cup semis.
They accomplished this in style with flawless performances on day one. After easily dispatching the Philippines in game one, the Kenya sevens team absolutely put Zimbabwe to the sword, beating them 31-5. This is the Zimbabwe team that fancies itself as being on par with Kenya at sevens. The 31-5 drubbing will disabuse them of that notion. The emphatic win over Zimbabwe is also significant in that it is only 10 years ago that the Zim sevens team was way ahead of their Kenyan counterparts. When Kenya hosted the world cup qualifiers in 2001, it was a given that Zim would emerge on top. That they did beating Kenya thanks to two tries from “Kenyan defector” Victor Olonga, while Kenya replied with a Paul Murunga try. It is also the same Zim that twice beat Kenya in 2011 prior to the arrival of Mike Friday.
The win over Samoa is indicative of the strides Kenya has made. This is a team that over the past 10 years, Kenya simply had no answer for with their physicality at breakdowns. Kenya had shocked Samoa at the 2002 Commonwealth games thanks to an Oscar Osir brace. But from then on, they went on to loose perhaps the next ten encounters. Today however, Kenya are more than a match for the physical Samoans.
The win over a stubborn France team is impressive considering that France has literally hundreds of fully professional players spread across two divisions and have perhaps the best rugby facilities in the world. There was no shame in loosing to England by two tries to one in the semis considering how far ahead England is in terms of finances, player development and facilities.
Compare to other top African teams
To make the case that the Kenya sevens team is the greatest African team North of the Limpopo, let us study the performance of other top African teams.
When you look at other African teams that represent Africa in other sports, it quickly occurs to you that the Kenya sevens team has no peers. Take football for example. The Cameroon team of 1990 was superb, possibly the best African performance ever. They reached the quarter finals of the world cup. However their performance at the next world cup and at every world cup before that has been way below par.
Senegal dazzled in 2002 but have fallen off the map since then. Nigeria were at their zenith in the mid 1990s but the best they accomplished in the world cup was the second round. One area where African teams have indeed been winning is at Youth and Junior tournaments. However those wins are tainted by the fact that African teams typically field over-age players at these tournaments. When Nigeria won the 1996 Olympics, virtually all the players who claimed to be Under 23 were anything but including the likes of Taribo West, Ikpeba and Ammunike. This author watched Ammunike play for Zamalek against Gor Mahia in 1994 and was shocked at the claim that he was only 20 years old at the time.
In other sports, the performance of African teams is even worse. In basketball, Angola hardly win any games at the world champs. In men’s volleyball, Africa is usually represented by North African teams with similar poor results.
Long story short, no African team has even come close to accomplishing the feats of the Kenya rugby sevens team.
The Only repeat semi-finalist
Kenya was the only semi-finalist from 2009 that once again reached the semis in 2013, thus proving that their semi final feat in 2009 was no fluke. The others , Argentina, Wales and Samoa fell by the wayside.
Also, Kenya was the best performing African team. South Africa fell in the quarter-finals while Zimbabwe and Tunisia scarcely registered any wins.
Teamwork
In watching this team, one had to be impressed by the total team effort. Gone are the days when the team was dependent on the heroics of one or two players. Humphrey Kayange who returned to the team only last month has now acquired the ability to spot gaps and exploit them with lightning speed. Yet another new skill in his Arsenal. Lavin Asego proved that he is still a superb playmaker with the ability to open up spaces and release the speedsters with Pirlo like vision. Collins Injera’s pace and devastating handoff still causes nightmares to opponents. Oscar Ouma was impressive with his support play and ability to pass on the tackle accurately and recycle efficiently. William Ambaka left opponents gasping with his deceptive speed and was ahandful for tacklers. Andrew Amonde made life difficult tacklers trying to stop his 100kg body. Biko Adema , Horace Otieno all provided much needed veteran leadership. The youthful Felix Ayange, Eden Agero and Mike Wanjala acquited themselves very well proving that Kenya’s future is bright.
Whats Next
Prior to the world cup, the KRFU shocked Kenyans by announcing the firing of Mike Friday. The announcement left Kenyans baffled and wondering whether FKF officials like Sam Nyamweya had infiltrated KRFU. Firing the man most responsible for Kenya’s improvement and replacing him with team manager Felix Ochieng who has no coaching credentials seemed comical at best. This is especially considering that the world cup was only a few weeks away. Mistakes like these cost Kenya dearly in the past when the Union decided to drop key players like Sammy Khakame, Paul Odera and Shaka Kwatch only weeks before the world cup and replace them with inexperienced players.
Thankfully KRFU came to their senses. It goes without saying that Friday should be back next season. Theres no point messing with success. It also goes without saying that Kenya cannot rest on its laurels. Other teams will be coming after Kenya with vigour and you can bet your house that other African teams are strategizing how to catch up with Kenya. KRFU must now start earnestly planning for the 2014 IRB series and the 2016 Olympics and subsequent tournament.
