Why Impala, Parklands are pioneers of women’s rugby

Last Saturday was a historic day for women’s rugby in Kenya.

For the first time in the country’s history a full 15-a-side national league was started.

The Women’s Kenya Cup featuring six teams kicked off with an entertaining match between Mwamba and Nakuru at Impala Club.

And as fans cheered a debate raged on who started the women’s game.  Where did the game start in Kenya and when was it first played?

Women’s rugby has had a start-stop life in Kenya.

Curiously, hockey had a hand in the first women’s game in 1965 and again in its revival in 2002.

The game can first be traced to April 1965 when women from Impala Club and Parklands Sports Club got together to play a match.

“There are two theories behind this,” reminisced the late Arnolda Breckenridge of Parklands, a pioneer of the women’s game, in an interview done in 2017.

“A bet over dinner between the ladies from the two clubs gave birth to that match. Parklands was home to Nondescripts while Impala was home to Impala RFC.

“The Kenya Hockey Women’s Association decided to send a team to a festival scheduled for 1967 in Hamburg, West Germany. Novel suggestions for fundraising for the tournament were considered. Mrs Kitty Morton of Impala came up with the idea of the women playing rugby. The players came from the hockey clubs of Impala and Parklands.

“There was an altercation even before dinner was over so we took to the pitch in dinner dresses, skirts, blouses, high heels, necklaces, watches’ and bracelets at night in Parklands. We could not settle the argument so we came back the next day in sports gear, skirts, sneakers and boots. We cut our nails to avoid the scratches of the previous encounter but left the cutex,”  said Breckenridge.

She recalls the moments: “After the first training session we got shorts, getting rid of the skirts because of the scrum downs and line-outs. It was actually a thrill to take off with the ball with others pursuing. I was initially scared of being tackled but after the first one it was a blur and it was exciting to get hold of the opponent and slam her to the ground.”

Following the two encounters at Parklands, all rugby clubs were approached and agreed to form a team.

Impala players Ronald Arthur Benyon and Peter Shough were appointed the ladies coaches’. This is captured in the minutes of the Kenya Central Province Rugby Football Union.

Impala and Parklands women’s hockey side’s led the way in this venture.

The Daily Nation of May 1965 reported of preparations for a women’s rugby match between Impala and Parklands at Impala.

The teams trained twice a week for the fixture on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. The first proper match after training was played on May 28 won 9-6 by Impala.

Jill Armstrong opened the scoring for Impala with a try after a strong run. Jean Grant-Smith added the second with Vivian Parks converting to give Impala a healthy lead.

Parklands dominated the second half and scored two tries.

Reported the Daily Nation the next day: “The two teams covered well with very little kicking and lots of running of the ball. The tackling was good but the passing was out of this world. Eyes closed and back swings reminded one of a player just starting out at netball. The ladies took the game seriously with the biggest crowd at a rugby match this season.”

The return match was played in August with Impala again winning, 8-6.

Women’s rugby took a break after 1965 but resumed in 1969. This time it was a challenge thrown to Parklands by Impala ladies after an Enterprise Cup match.

Margaret Hamilton, who pioneered this effort was the wife of Dougie Hamilton of Kenya Harlequins, Kenya and East Africa.

In 1969 an Impala versus Parklands women’s encounter was probably the game of that year.

“The tactics of the women’s were enough to make you shudder on behalf of their husbands,” said Breckenridge.

The Impala team programme was revealing. Erica Tromp was described as “the fastest thing at Impala”. Margaret Hamilton “can’t run and can’t kick”. Hamilton earned the verdict “a great centre”.

Bernadette O’Toole was described thus “Nice fire baby with ability to evade opponents”
Peggy Anne Garlick- was acclaimed “intelligent player and a Maasai trialist.” The 1969 game was also in aid of charity but precious little was reported on the pitch.

The Impala match brochure for June 19, 1969 listed their players thus: J. Velzian, J. Waterfall, Erica Tromp, Margaret Hamilton, A. Watson, Peggy Anne Garlick, Victoria Fienderlich, Bernadette O’Toole, L.Brenan, I.Biemar, J.Hasteron, M.Maddocks, C.Seed, N.Reymer, C.O’Toole.Reserves:R.O’Shea, Victoria Mills,  Rita Carpenter.

The result for the match was in doubt,” reported the Nation the following day.

The fixture was held again  in 1973. After that, little happened in the women’s game until 1978.

Mwamba RFC, formed in late 1977, tinkered with a women’s team the following year.
Their women’s side occasionally played their male counterparts and even defeated them!

Chris Njenga, a founder of Mwamba, gives a glimpse of those days: “Mwamba included individual women members who were our wives, girlfriends, sisters, friends and other female supporters.

“They were the most committed and vocal of Mwamba fans. They continued to understand the game and resolved that they wanted to learn the rules in order to play.“

Mwamba women famously beat their male counterparts in a festive match in 1980. But it was not a fair contest.

 Pritt Nyandatt a former Kenya international recalls that between 1978 and1980, the Mwamba hard men only agreed to play against their women after their right hands were tied behind their backs. You can imagine how the tackling was!

Club folklore indicates that the women picked the game because the loved it and desired to be fully identified with the club.

The women members of the team included Mrs. Sarah Ojiambo, (captain), Mrs. Ashioya, Mrs. Ruth Njenga and Mrs. Lillian Awimbo.

On April 4, 1980, Kenya Harlequins ladies hosted Mwamba ladies at the RFUEA grounds, Nairobi. The match was a curtain raiser to the big encounter between Kenya Harlequins and touring Diggers RFC from Zambia.

Mwamba ladies won 11-0. Caryn McHarney Brown captained the Quins that also had Valentine Mangusa, Josephine Kibe, Joan Anami, Betty Macharia and Vicky Moran.

Other players were Janet Nyamweya, Joy Wanjiku, Leah Meoly, Lynette Awuor, Maggie Arami, Linda Kibisu, Maggie Cool, Mary Ganira, Sheila Mungai and Ken Chase.

But the match proved to be a one off. Other clubs could not raise a women’s team while Mwamba women were too strong for any prospective competitors.

The lull in women’s rugby lasted until the new millennium.

Again, it was at Mwamba that resuscitated  this version of the game.

The driving force were  Mwangi Muthee, Pritt Nyandatt and Sammy Kemei who coached the women’s side.

“We talked to Sliders hockey team and they helped strengthen our numbers with five girls who were consistent,” said Nyandatt.

 “As numbers picked up and we played in one off tournaments -- the Kabeberi Sevens and the Kisumu Sevens in 2004.”

Philadelphia Orlando the current Kenya Lionesses skipper was one of the young girls who picked up the game at Mwamba with gusto.

This writer was a pioneer of the women’s game in Kisumu helping with coaching, assisted by John Ondiek.
And just like the situation in Mwamba, Kisumu looked to the Kisumu hockey team for women rugby players. The players included Eunice Dollar and Monique Sella, the pioneers of the game in the lake region.

The women’s game was also up and about in neighbouring Uganda where a side put together by Jim Park, formerly of Kenya Harlequins, became regular opponents of Kisumu.

The Kenya Rugby Union organised the Women’s Elgon Cup in 2006 played alongside the men’s competition.

The annual Elgon Cup pits rivals Kenya against Uganda in a home and way feature.

The women’s fixture became the focal point for the game.

Despite lacking a league and regular competitions Kenya’s national sevens and 15s women’s teams have regularly taken part in the Confederation of Africa Rugby Tournaments as well the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

The new Women’s Kenya Cup will involve six teams -- Mwamba, Topfry Nakuru, Ruck It, Yamanashi Impala Saracens, Homeboyz and Northern Suburbs.

The second round of matches will be on December 18 with Mwamba entertaining Ruck It, Nakuru taking on  Homeboyz and Suburbs testing Impala.

The sky is the limit for the growing women’s game in the country.

Okong’o is an East African rugby historian