How Kenya Simbas humiliation in France exposed visionless KRU

Kenyan rugby suffered its most embarrassing loss in recent memory, when Canada drubbed us 65-19 in a 2019 World Cup repechage qualifying match.

The match, played on November 4 in Marseille, France, was a must-win encounter in the qualifiers for next year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan.

So what exactly went wrong? The answer can be stated in one sentence: Off-pitch preparations that were laughable at best and outrightly ludicrous at worst!

Kenya Simbas, as the 15s rugby team is called, were never in the running. Any half serious sports federation, first and for most, defines the importance of the upcoming engagement. it then decides what input, monetary and otherwise, is required to effectively mount a successful challenge and then pulls out all stops to provide the team with the required facilitation.

Back to the Simbas, the Richard Omwela-led Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) board had the better part of at least four months to get its act together.

The KRU did precious little in that regard, and let down the country big time. Both players and coaches went unpaid and there was no assignment-focused camp, local or overseas, put in place. Kenya 15s coaching set-up headed by Kiwi Ian Snook, was almost certainly never facilitated to do a reconnaissance mission on Canada, our strongest opponents at the tournament.

In the wider context, the humiliation by Canada exposed KRU to be running a phantom set-up in the name of our domestic club competitions. National team players are of course products of the respective clubs and leagues that they play in. The revolving door involving coaches at both the shorter and longer versions of the game, is likewise proof of an administration unsure of its direction; talk less of its destination.

Murray Poulston, the deputy of Simbas head coach Ian Snook, threw in the towel in frustration over unpaid dues in July. Other departures of key member in the KRU set-up soon followed, in actions that did and do not inspire confidence (particularly to sponsors) in the KRU, as presently constituted.

Kenya’s flagship rugby showcase tournament, the annual Safari Sevens, continues to lose its glitter with every passing edition. Held last weekend, it was without a title sponsor.

Pretty much an indictment, if one was ever required, of the sad state of affairs in our beloved sport. Whereas Kenya still has two more 2019 Rugby World Cup repechage qualifier matches to play against Hong Kong and Germany, only a monumental disaster will prevent Canada from taking the only World Cup spot reserved for the teams competing in Marseille.

And that will certainly be a very good thing for Kenya. Why? Had we qualified, our pool opponents in Japan would have been South Africa’s Springboks and the world’s number one-ranked team, New Zealand’s fearsome All Blacks! Enough said.