Kenya destroyed Uganda 52-11 in the opening match of the 2013 Africa division 1 rugby cup. The game was played at the National stadium in Madagscar and as usual, an over-capacity crowd of 40,000 turned up.
It was the largest margin of victory for Kenya over Uganda since 1997 when Kenya manhandled Uganda 67-7. However in 1997, Kenya was hundreds of metric miles ahead of Uganda in rugby. Uganda had only been readmitted as a member of the International rugby board in 1995. Rugby had been dead in Uganda for over 20 years having been killed by Iddi Amin.
So you can imagine the shock and exasperation of Kenyan fans when in 2002, Uganda shocked Kenya 31-22. Prior to the that game, Kenya players had gone on strike and had even refused to take the field. It took threats from KRFU to get them to play. And play they did but by halftime, Uganda was leading a demoralized Kenya team by a large margin. And although Kenya awoke in the second half and closed the gap, it was too late. The loss was described in the Kenyan media as “Our worst nightmare”.
From that point on, matches between Uganda and Kenya were closely contested affairs much the chagrin of Kenyan fans who could not understand how a country that only recently started rugby could compete with them. The answer was that Kenya rugby may have had a huge head start against Uganda but they did not move too far from the starting line. In fact in many ways, rugby structures in Kenya had declined since the 1960s and 1970s when the British Lions among other top teams would tour Nairobi.
Matters came to a head in 2007 when Uganda beat Kenya 24-12 in the semi-finals of the Africa cup on their way. From that point on there was no denying that Uganda was passing Kenya in terms of rugby standards. And although Kenya won 6 successive Elgon cups, fans once again had to suffer the disappointment of loosing to Uganda at the 2012 Africa cup.
As a result, by 2013, Kenya had never beaten Uganda on neutral ground. Ugandans had become so cocky that you would hear statements from Uganda fans like “Kenya should stick to sevens. Fifteens belongs to Uganda.” And whereas a win for Kenya over Uganda is usually met with a yawn by most Kenyans, a win for Uganda over Kenya in any sport is met with wild celebrations and endless braggadocio on social media. Ugandan sports fans generally have a chip on their shoulder when it comes to playing against Kenya.
If you are a Kenyan and as a boy you might have played a game of marbles against a Ugandan boy, you can bet your bottom dollar that he has catalogued the victory on his facebook page even 20 years later.
Indeed Uganda typically takes their preparations for the Elgon cup rather seriously. Take 2012 for example, Uganda had been training for at least 3 weeks. Kenya on the other hand put together a team only 3 days before they left for Kampala.
And even in the Elgon cup, kenya typically wins the Nairobi leg by a large margin, only to loose in Kampala by a significant margin. This poor away form has always baffled rugby fans in Kenya.
That indeed is the root cause for Kenya’s previous struggles against Uganda. When Kenya lost 16-17 to Uganda in the opening leg of the 2013 Elgon cup, it was met with a shrug by many rugby fans who by now have become used to disappointment. However Kenya pulled through and won the return leg 19-13 in Kampala much to the relief of Kenya fans. Beating Uganda in Kampala for the first time finally gave fans hope that the Kenya XV was starting to finally fulfill expectations.
Kenya’s struggles to beat Uganda defy logic. Not only has the game been thriving in Kenya for much longer than in Uganda , but Kenya also has a larger player base. Kenya has for twice as many Bamburi series Franchises as does Uganda. And since the game is more established in Kenya their ought to be more resources and sponsorship. But poor preparations and disorganization has been the bane of Kenya rugby for many years. In 2013 however, Kenya finally put it all together and with adequate preparations have finally shredded Uganda to ribbons.
Kenya led by captain Wilson Kopondo aka “Kopo”, a Strathmore alumnus and man of the match Joshua Chisanga put on a splendid display. It is the kind of performance that Kenya fans have known exists with the Kenya rugby setup. It just needed to be extracted with proper preparations.
Edwin Achayo scoried twice, while other touchdowns came from eighth man Joshua Chisanga, captain Wilson Kopondo, Oliver Mang’eni, Brian Nyikuli, Andrew Amonde and Cyprian Kuto.
Kenny Andola managed two conversions with Fabian Olando adding a third conversion. Isaac Adimo kicked two further penalties.
It is the kind of beating that Uganda fans will not soon forget. And for the Uganda players who took the beating, they will probably be seeing red shirts in their nightmares for a long time to come.
Kenya now face the Zimbabwe Sables in the final. The Sables will be eager for a measure of revenge after Kenya destroyed them 31-5 in the rugby sevens world cup.
