Rugby teams fly Kenya’s flag high as athletes again conquer the world

PHOTO | FILE Kenya’s Horace Otiendo (left) vies for the ball with Philippines’ Jake Letts (centre) during their group matches at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on June 28, 2013.

What you need to know:

  • The country’s runners dominated the World Marathon Majors. The women won all six events in the Series, with Jeptoo returning home with the jackpot, cementing the nation’s place at the top of global distance running
  • Kenya Sevens team beat the odds to reach their second Rugby World Cup (RWC) Sevens semi-finals in June in Moscow, Russia and crowned the season with their best ever run in the IRB World Sevens Series, finishing fifth overall with 99 points in the Series that ended in May.

The 2012/2013 season will go down as of the country’s most successful periods in rugby as both the Kenya Sevens and Kenya 15s teams proved their mettle in several international outings.

Kenya Sevens team beat the odds to reach their second Rugby World Cup (RWC) Sevens semi-finals in June in Moscow, Russia and crowned the season with their best ever run in the IRB World Sevens Series, finishing fifth overall with 99 points in the Series that ended in May.

At one time, the team that had a new coach in Englishman Mike Friday was placed second overall after New Zealand in the IRB World Series after the first two legs of Gold Coast and Dubai.

Kenya 15s team was also on a roll under new South African coach Jerome Paawaters as they recaptured both the regional Elgon Cup and Africa Cup title in Madagascar in June and July respectively.

Kenya’s Shujaa recaptured the Safaricom Safari Sevens title for the first time since 2000 in September under acting coach Felix “Toti” Ochieng following Friday’s resignation soon after the RWC.

Nakuru Rugby Football Club, sponsored by Top Fry, made history, becoming the first club outside Nairobi to clinch the prestigious Kenya Cup title since its launch in 1970 when they won the 2012-2013 edition in February.

In June, Top Fry Ndovu that mainly comprised players from Nakuru won the revised Bamburi Rugby Super Series while Mwamba lifted the regional Enterprise Cup in April.

It was a great season also for Kenya Commercial Bank who won the first Great Rift 10-a-side title in March before claiming their maiden Safaricom National Sevens Series in September, winning three of the five events in the Series (Christie Sevens, Driftwood Sevens and Prinsloo Sevens).

Fans’ expectations hit the roof top when Kenya Sevens annihilated Philippines, Zimbabwe and Samoa to storm the 2013 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals between June 20-30 at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

CLASSY KENYANS OUTCVLASS PHILIPPINES

Kenya outclassed Philippines 45-5, their highest score at the RWC before whacking Zimbabwe 31-5 and Samoa 17-12 to automatically qualify for the main Cup.

William 'Lomu' Ambaka scored the sudden death try as Kenya beat France 24-19 in the quarter-finals before the team’s run was halted by England 5-12 in the semis played on a soggy surface.

Dan Norton’s brace in the first-half and Christian Lewis-Pratt’s conversion saw England take a 12-0 first-half lead. Kenya skipper Andrew Amonde managed the only score of the second-half, gathering a Lavin Asego kick and scoring a try that reduced the deficit to seven points, the scores reading 12-5 in England’s favour.

Ambaka was denied a chance to seal the game for Kenya on the final play as he embarked on his trade mark length-of-the-field run only to be stopped twice by Norton with the try line beckoning. They eventually finished fourth after losing to Fiji 5-29 in the play-offs.

Kenya Sevens reached the same stage in 2009, losing to Argentina 0-12 just moments after having halted then defending champions Fiji 26-7 in the quarter-finals.

Kenya Sevens made it to five main Cup quarter-finals in Gold Coast, Dubai, Wellington, Hong Kong and England in the nine-leg 2012/2013 Series.  However, the Wellington leg was the team’s most successful as it reached its first Cup final since 2009 before losing to England 19-24 in sudden-death.

Kenya had dismissed France 24-12, Argentina 12-0 and Tonga 17-10 to reach the Cup quarters. They then stunned South Africa 21-20 in the quarters and hosts New Zealand 19-14 in the semi-finals respectively.

It was also Kenya’s second ever victory against New Zealand since the 2008/2009 San Diego Sevens where they triumphed 24-7.  At Gold Coast, they lost to South Africa 7-41 in the bronze play-offs after losing to New Zealand 5-15 in the Cup semis.

They were to beat France 15-12 to win bronze in Dubai, having lost to New Zealand 7-27 in the semis.  But Kenya lost to New Zealand 5-26 in the bronze play-offs in Hong Kong after losing to Wales 0-19 in the semis. They also lost to New Zealand 0-7 in the Cup semis before going down 19-26 to England in the play-off in the final leg of London in May.

Ambaka was named in the inaugural  IRB World Series ‘Dream Team’ that was unveiled for the 2012/13 season, highlighting the impact and achievements across the season of seven special players.

Kenya 15s lost 16-17 to Uganda in the first leg of the Elgon Cup on June 15, but they overturned the deficit, winning 19-13 for an aggregate score of 35-30 in Kampala. That set the stage for their second victory of 52-11 against the Ugandans in the CAR Cup Division 1A semi-final on July 10 before dethroning Zimbabwe 29-17 in the continental final on July 14.

Kenya 15s failed to sparkle in the Tri-Nations tournament in Windhoek, losing to Zimbabwe 14-29 and squandered a 25-10 lead at the break to lose to hosts Namibia 35-55 on November 16.

SHUJAA WON

Shujaa lifted the Safaricom Safari Sevens title with an emphatic 40-7 win over Australia Renegades in the final at the Moi International Sports Centre on September 22.

Kenya’s other side Morans claimed bronze place, beating South Africa’s Western Province 12-10 while Samurai retained Plate with a 34-14 win over Western Bulls. KCB won the shield with a 7-0 win over Nakuru but Uganda won the jug with a 19-0 win over Homeboyz.

England Royals withdrew from the tournament on the orders of the British Home Office in the wake of the Westgate Mall terror attack.

Nakuru hit Strathmore Leos 37-3 in the Kenya Cup final at Kasarani on February 23 and Ndovu seized the 2013 Bamburi Rugby Super Series title with a 24-18 win over Uganda’s Rwenzori in the final at the RFUEA grounds on June 1.

Mwamba won the Enterprise Cup for the first time since 2006 after defeating Nakuru 15-10 in a closely-contested final at the RFUEA grounds on April 6.

KCB II retained the Mwamba Cup after rallying from 10-16 at half-time to post 22-21 win over Impala II.

It was also a good year for KCB who defeated Mean Machine 10-0 to lift their first ever Great Rift 10s title at the Nakuru Athletic Club on March 31.