BREAKDOWN: It's time rugby recognised their heroes

Why do players, managers, coaches and even referees invest so much resources and time in the sport they are involved in? For money? For success, fame, honour, self realisation? For the good life?

Each of them is driven by an entirely individual set of compulsions.

But one thing is certain. Some sports are meant for those who want to make money and some, for those who just love the game and find enormous gratification in winning and are absolutely inconsolable when losing.

As both sets of sportspeople excel in their different careers, rewards differ. Some become like Humphrey Kayange, an international rugby icon respected in world rugby. Others become like Paul Tergat, using his fame to commercialise his brand and come up with ventures that have continued to place him in limelight years after he last laced up his racing shoes. Still, others become like Dennis Oliech, faced with adversity he has managed to reinvent himself and can once again be that superstar that made many kids dream of football success and riches that come with it.

But not all those who strive, succeed. That’s where the role of awards and public recognition comes in. Awards do not only acknowledge success; they recognise many other qualities: ability, struggle, effort and, above all, excellence.

It is disheartening that there are no rugby-specific awards in the country, with players and coaches doing with being recognized by other organisations like Safaricom Sports Personality of the Year Awards (Soya)  and Magharibi Michezo Awards. Kenya Lionesses coach Kevin Wambua, KCB’s Curtis Olago as well as Willy Ambaka and Janet “Shebesh” Okello were all recognised at the recently held Soya Awards in Mombasa.

In December, Collins Injera, Kenya Simbas duo of George Nyambu and Ephraim Oduor as well as former Kenya Sevens coach Innocent Simiyu were all awarded by MMA at a ceremony held in Bungoma.

But for how long should rugby just stand at the periphery and wait for some people to recognise their heroes? What will it take to have the sport organise their own awards and recognise their own heroes, both in national limelight and those involved in the game at grassroots level?

For every Injera milestone on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, there are tens of equally gifted rugby players who do not make it. Not because they are any less talented but because life has this curious habit of being unfair, even to the best among us. As you celebrate Darwin Mukidza’s match winning performance in Africa, there are hundreds of brilliant young rugby players in Kenya who never got the grooming and the break they needed. And, even when they do, they are stymied at every level by an irreverent system.

Every time referee Victor Oduor runs out of the tunnel in a global tournament, there are tens of equally talented referees putting in the shift, most often with no pay and uncelebrated, in far flung areas where the population hardly understands what rugby is.

That’s where awards play a crucial role. Not everyone’s lucky to get the money and the rah-rah he or she deserves. Those who do not, manage to get by because of the support and recognition awards give them.

If my memory serves me right, Elliptics Awards organised by Ministry of Rugby under the stewardship of Arigi Obiero and Tony Onyango were the last awards in the sport in the country. I don’t know and don’t want to speculate the reason the awards die, but they were definitely a good thing for Kenya rugby and should have been sustained.

Rugby needs an award scheme that will be inclusive and recognize every one’s effort in the  country. From administrators, to coaches, players, team managers, referees, support staff and development officers. They all deserve a shout out and a pat on the back for their efforts.

But probably we can start small like what football does, awarding player of the month before planning for a grand award gala at the end of the season to award best performers.

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