For the Love of the Kenya 7s Game

They say its hard being a fan-and I should know this really well given that am an Arsenal fan..oh the anguish, frustration and nail-biting watching my team fight their way through difficult matches..and the oh the joy, the chest-thumping and crazy wild celebrations when the team finally grinds out a win as we did against Tottenham, Liverpool, Newcastle and Aston Villa recently! Thats the life of a fan, mine included. But nothing beats the craziness of being a rugby fan, a 7s rugby fun in particular and a Kenya 7s Rugby team fan to be more specific. They say the Kenyan team has the highest travelling contingent fans across the world in the IRB sevens circuit and the team has the most appealing flair and athleticism amongst all the other teams comparable only to the Fijians and Samoans. In their best day, they can beat anybody as they showed in the 2009/2010 seasons where the likes of Colins Injera and Humprey Khayange really shone through for the nation with Colins becoming the leading try scorer in the series and Humprey being appointed a IRB 7s Rugby Ambassador in the successful bid to have 7s Rugby as an Olympic sport. Even some beer companies cashed in with a Kenya 7s branded ale!

So much has changed since then and the team is not doing as well as it did then as well exemplified by its current ranking at No. 10 in the series and its 2 weeks tailing in its pool in both Hong Kong and Japan. The team seems devoid of ideas as well as leadership and I dare assert that the change of coaches from Ben Ayimba to Mitch Ocholla and the Captaincy from Humprey to his younger brother Colins may be a contributing factor to the visible lack of communication between the bench and the team and within the team itself. Something drastic needs to be done lest we see the team which has been a significant source of pride face the same dizzy fall as that of the Kenya cricket team which has fallen from the highs of reaching the semis of the cricket world cup to being whipped by minnows such as Nepal and Afghanistan in the recent T20 World Cup qualifiers. We love our team and the boys are capable but there is need for inspirational leadership to guide the team back to its former glory. Kenya Hee Kenya Haa!!!!