Curtis Olago: Young rugby coach inspired by revolutionary ideas

After playing as a back for some of Kenya’s top clubs - Impala Saracens, Nondescripts and Kenya Commercial Bank, Curtis Olago felt that there was need to change the way rugby was being played in the country.

The desire grew in his sunset playing years at KCB, where he saw action from 2008 when he moved to the Lions Den in Ruaraka from Nondies.

Olago, now 36, signed for KCB a year after legendary Kenya Simbas player Michael “Tank” Otieno had guided the bankers to their third Kenya Cup success 2007 and second in a row.

Interestingly, Olago was not satisfied even after he won Kenya Cup as a coach with KCB twice - in 2015 on his second season after being named head coach and 2016.

His desire for perfection and success saw Olago take his team to Cape Town, South Africa in July last year. The 10-day tour yielded the results with KCB players’ skill improving to astonishingly winning the 2017/2018 Kenyan Cup title unbeaten in their 13 matches, a rare feat in Kenyan rugby history.

Guess what? Olago is not letting his foot off the gas pedal since he still thinks KCB and local rugby are not where he wants them to be.

Just how and why did Olago venture into coaching at a prime age when he was supposed to be playing?

“I looked at how all the top clubs were playing at that point and I noticed that something wasn’t right and I wanted to make things better,” said Olago, who was born in April 1981 in Siaya, embraced rugby "accidentally" as a means of escaping manual work while in form one at Nairobi School in 1997 .

“I couldn’t make things better while playing. I had to be a coach, giving my philosophy, my insights, my understanding and my ethos on the game of rugby.”

Olago explained further that what made him wants to start coaching, especially KCB, is that they were using their forwards too much and the backs were not expressing themselves.

“Being a back and having been coached by the likes of Bill Githinji at Impala and played at Nondies alongside Kanyi Gitonga, backs were allowed to express themselves,” said Olago. “I deemed it not right when one department was being overloaded.”

Olago noted that that was not how the game was played in the Northern Hemisphere that included England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland and Southern hemisphere that draws South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina.

“They were using their forwards too much and rarely were allowed to express themselves,” said Olago, a former Kenya Simbas and Kenya Sevens centre.

Olago managed to convince KCB top management to hire him and consequently started to coach the bankers’ second side in 2012.

“I wanted to strike a balance between the forwards and backs and break the culture that revolved around the forwards only,” said Olago, who, incidentally had not coached before getting his KCB job.

In 2012, Olago took the KCB second team to Eric Shirley Shield final before winning the diadem the following season to loudly announce his credentials.

LOST TO NAKURU

They were good enough for KCB to appoint him head coach of their Kenya Cup side for the 2013/2014 season where he managed to guide them to the semi-finals where they lost to eventual winners Nakuru. They finished third.

The bankers against met Nakuru in the final of the Enterprise Cup only to again lose, 18-13.

Olago led KCB Sevens team to second place in the National Sevens Series, just a point less than the champions Kenya Harlequin.

Olago would make a major breakthrough with KCB in the 2014/2015 season when they won Kenya Cup, comprehensively beating debutants Kabras Sugar 27-3 in the final. They had finished the regular league in second position having lost one match against Nakuru 23-20. They beat Strathmore Leos in the semi-final 24-21 while Kabras halted Nakuru’s dream of a hat-trick, winning 15-12 in the other semis.

KCB completed a treble for the first time in the season, winning the coveted Kenya Cup, beating Homeboyz 28-0 in the final of the Enterprise Cup and emphatically winning the National Sevens Series.

“What pleases me is that I was able to implement my programmes at KCB which worked beautifully as we won the two prestigious titles, that have been the goal of many clubs in Kenya for many years dating back to before we gained independence.”

He added that the licence he gave his backs Ken Moseti, Brian Omondi, Jacob Ojee and Darwin Mukidza to express themselves worked well for the team.

Come the 2015/2016 season, KCB would lose the Kenya Cup title to Kabras Sugar, who were making their second appearance in Kenya Cup. It’s Impala Saracens who stopped them 8-7 in the semi-final but Kabras Sugar halted the Sarries charge for the title, winning 22-5 in the final.

However, they became the first team in 13 years to retain Enterprise Cup title beating Kenya Cup champion Kabras Sugar 24-12 in the final.

Olago noted that they failed to defend Kenya Cup because the team was rebuilding with senior players like Dennis Mwanja, Anthony Ogot, Philip Wamae and Edwin Alubaka, who won the treble with “Tank”, were aging out.

There was also a new crop of players like Andrew Amonde, Oliver Mang’eni, George Asin, Peter Waitere and Brian Sagala who were coming in to take the mantle. “We were also jolted in our charge with many injuries. The likes of Ojee and Wamae were unavailable through injury.”

“Remember I wanted to change the systems but even though it took a while it eventually worked since we were able to rebuild within a season,” explained Olago. “We were not happy after we failed to retain Kenya Cup despite the injuries and the transition period since we felt we had done enough in the reservoir and losing to Impala in the semi-finals was painful.”

RECLAIMED KENYA CUP

Olago’s team went on to reclaim the Kenya Cup in the 2016/2017 season and also successfully defended the Enterprise Cup.

They trounced champions Kabras Sugar 36-8 in the final, having stopped Quins 19-12 in the semi-finals and also finishing second in the regular league behind Homeboyz.

KCB claimed their sixth Enterprise Cup when they rallied from behind 0-10 to silence Kabras Sugar 27-23 in a thrilling final.

KCB were simply physically domineering and ruthless in the just ended 2017/2018 Kenya Cup season.

They not only retained the title for their fifth Cup success, beating Kabras Sugar 29-24 in the final, but also accomplished the feat unbeaten in 13 outings.

It was the first time a team was winning Kenya Cup unbeaten since Kenya Harlequin in 2012.

Even after reclaiming Kenya Cup in last season, Olago felt that KCB were not really where he wanted them to be as far as playing the game was concerned.

“It had to start with structural change on how players trained and their welfare. It had to begin from the top,” said Olago, adding that by going to Western Province, South Africa for a pre-season training ahead of the 2017/2018, proved key to their game.

KCB went through training with Western Province forwards coach Hanyani Simange, Super Rugby Stormers head coach Robbie Fleck and John Dobson, who won the 2017 Currie Cup with Western Province.

“They gave me a lot of material and explained to me a lot of technical things that were not being done by local teams."

“They were teaching me stuff you would not find in Kenya. That is when I decided not to involve myself with sevens rugby again,” said Olago.

The former back said they were able to improve on their skill level and know-how particularly in the critical areas of breakdown, catch-and-pass, lineout and scrummaging.

“We set out for a good pre-season and it showed in Kenya Cup, but all these involves good planning,” said Olago, adding that being a champion was the easier part but defending the status was the hardest adventure.

“As a club, we are not competing just to win but we want to win playing a brand of rugby that is dynamic,” said Olago.

He is now hoping that their mother company will sponsor them for another tour of South Africa.

“There is a lot of knowledge we can tap from down South so as to keep improving. We want to climb many more staircases in pursuit of the knowledge,” said Olago.

Olago said that one problem coaches and players face in Kenya is lack of exposure to changes in how the game is played at the international level.

“Coaches, players and referees are not being taken out for refresher courses and seminars,” said Olago. “We only depend on Kenya Sevens players to come and tell us what is happening out there. This should stop.”

Olago said that he has personally suffered because Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) has always fought him while ignoring him despite his alluring CV that shows three Kenya Cup titles won with KCB.

For instance, the season he won Kenya Cup, Kenya Simbas toured South Africa for Vodacom Cup but the Union ignored him yet his players formed the bulk of the team. “They keep on telling me that my time has not reached but I see them making appointments of young coaches. Innocent Simiyu of Kenya Sevens is younger than me,” said Olago. “I don’t know when my time will reach.”

However, Olago supports Kenya Simbas being handled by a foreign coach since Kenya is not exposed. “Let me be the devil’s advocate. Many people don’t advocate for that but we need foreign coaches with credentials now because they are more exposed to top class rugby than us,” said Olago.

“What the Union should do is invest in local coaches by taking them for quality training in top rugby playing nations rather than investing in foreign coaches.”

Olago thanks his players, the technical bench and their sponsors for the support they have given him in his coaching career. “These players are the best of friends I have. They are like my family and I really don’t know how I can cope in a another team,” said Olago, who has now completed World Rugby Level II coaching course.

“I am looking beyond KCB and Kenya Simbas after my experience at Western Province,” said Olago.