Rio 2016: Kenya, Uganda test rugby

It is probably every athlete’s dream to take part in the Olympics.

In the rugby world, the game won its bid to become an Olympic sport on October 9, 2009. Kenya Sevens skipper Humphrey Kayange was part of the delegation that successfully presented rugby’s strong case during the International Olympic Committee congress at the 121st IOC Session of 90 members in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The rugby sevens version was admitted to the Olympics to make its debut at the 2016 Rio Summer Games in Brazil.

The Kenya Sevens team reached its second Rugby World Cup Sevens semi-final at the 2013 championship in Moscow and finished in the top five at the 2012/2013 World Rugby Sevens Series.

Uganda Sevens had hoped to make it to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games with former Uganda Rugby Union chairman William Blick, who is now president of the Uganda Olympic Committee.

However, all is not well in the Kenya Sevens and Uganda Sevens camps as the 2016 Rio Olympics Africa qualifiers beckon from November 14 to 15 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Kenya and Uganda will face Zimbabwe, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia, Zambia, South Africa Development, Botswana, Madagascar, Mauritius and Morocco at the Rio qualifiers.

The winning team will get the only slot for the Olympics, joining South Africa, who had gained automatic qualification after finishing second in the 2014/2015 World Rugby Series.

The Kenya Sevens team have shown poor results over the past two years, with wrangling at the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) board, the resignation of its coaches Mike Friday (Britain) and Paul Treu (South Africa) and eventually the union’s chairman Mwangi Muthee.

Key Kenya Sevens players went on strike just before last year’s Safari Sevens over their contracts, so Treu went into the 2014/2015 World Series with a relatively inexperienced side. The team finished at position 13, their worst showing in several years.

One year later, there are still grumbles; players and technical bench officials addressed a press conference in July, where they boycotted training over unpaid salaries.

The reappointment of Benjamin Ayimba as head coach, replacing Felix Ochieng who had taken over from Treu on September 10, came with some controversy after the KRU board revoked it.

KRU secretary general Dennis Ombui said the process to appoint the new coach was flawed. Ayimba was only allowed to handle the Kenya Sevens teams for the Safari Sevens that ran October 3 to 5.

Nine key players including Collins Injera, Dennis Ombachi, Dan Sikuta, Billy Odhiambo and Léonard Mugaisi were missing from the Safari Sevens team owing to injuries.

In Uganda, despite qualifying for the 2006, 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games, lack of motivation has crept in. The team finished sixth overall at last year’s Africa Cup Sevens, where Kenya’s second side Shujaa was second after losing to South Africa Development in the final.

Sponsorship has not been forthcoming for the Uganda team.

Two Uganda Sevens players who vanished after the Commonwealth Games in Scotland last year later turned up playing for a suburban rugby club in Wales. Benon Kizza, 27, and 26-year-old Philip Pariyo did not return home with the rest of the squad.

Kenya and Uganda used the just concluded Safari Sevens to test their teams ahead of the 2016 Rio qualifiers.

Kenya Shujaa, winners of the 2000 and 2011 Safari Sevens, lost to Friday’s Samurai 19-20 in the final. Kenya’s second side, Morans, won the Bowl, beating Portugal 26-12 in the final.

Uganda lost to Zambia 14-10 in the Shield final.

Uganda head coach Herbert Wafula and technical adviser Bronson Weir tried several players ahead of the Rio qualifiers.

“We shall have a camp in Kampala where we shall look at different players’ physicality and intensity and see how we shall bring them to the party,” said Weir. “It wasn’t a good show since we should have beaten Zimbabwe in the preliminaries and Brazil in the Bowl quarters.”

Wafula said Safari Sevens showed that his charges were way off the mark for the Rio qualifiers, and now have to get back on track.

“We shall review our game, but our biggest problem is exposure,” Wafula said. “We were almost at par with Kenya in 2001, but their World Series exposure changed everything and we are still chasing them. We have the talent and hopefully we will get there,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ayimba said that he would not make changes to the squad that played at the Safari Sevens and had skipper Andrew Amonde, William Ambaka and Biko Adema.

“We have no excuse; we must qualify for the Olympics. There is enough talent, and high quality players,” said Ayimba.

Former coach Friday, who managed the team between 2012 and 2013, said the country has a good chance of qualifying for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
He said the team just needs a conducive environment in order to perform.

“You need a settled and consistent group of players who feel supported and protected, and don’t fear or feel threatened that their contracts will cancelled at any time,” Friday said.

“These players cannot give their best for the country if they don’t have protection, resources and food supplements. If they get that, these players are phenomenal and can work hard. Commit to them and they will commit back,” he added.