Rugby teams abandoned
That the national rugby sevens team, Kenya Sevens, took to social media yesterday to raise funds for their upkeep at the next two legs of the 2022/2023 World Sevens in Dubai and Cape Town is unacceptable.
More worrying is that some players were to boycott travelling with Shujaa, who were to leave last night for Dubai.
Dubai Sevens is due December 2-3 at the Sevens Stadium with Cape Town Sevens on December 9-11 at Cape Town Stadium.
The plight and complaints of the players and technical bench are genuine. They have stayed for almost three months without salaries and allowances yet neither the government nor Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) has moved to resolve the issue.
Kenya Sevens players’ appeal came in the wake of the Kenya Simbas campaign at the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final Qualification in Dubai that was riddled with boycotts over unpaid allowances. That saw head coach Paul Odera resign after their last match on November 18, a 18-22 loss to Hong Kong, having also lost to USA and Portugal 14-68 and 0-85, respectively.
Kenya Sevens coach Damian McGrath had raised the red flag before the team headed to the opening leg of the World Sevens series in Hong Kong early this month. He cited poor training facilities and unpaid players’ allowances and salaries. No wonder, both teams emerged last, without winning a match.
The government and KRU have simply failed the national sevens and 15s rugby teams, which are the responsibility. They must play their part if they expect the country to perform well in the international arena. Kenya Sevens face relegation from the World Series as a score team if they continue to perform poorly. That would be a bitter pill to swallow.
