Rugby in Kenya

• Better, but..

  Posted: May 31, 2008, 8:29 pm by DataMiner

  Second game lost 24-12 to France. Maybe the coach's plan is working. Gathumbi is a real find. Next game against Fiji at 19:14 EAT.

• Kenya Win First Match

  Posted: May 31, 2008, 5:53 pm by DataMiner

  A rather colourless match but a win all the same. Kenya 22 Moldova 5. Next game against France at 16:08 EAT.

• Weekend Games

  Posted: May 30, 2008, 2:38 pm by DataMiner

  Kenya Cup this weekend sees KCB host Nondies, Mwamba at home to Impala, Mean Machine host Quins and Mombasa Strathomore. I do not see any major re-alignment taking place in the league standings, however the interesting games should be Mwamba vs. Impala and Machine vs. Quins. KCB should have it fairly easy and maintain their unbeaten streak and the Mombasa vs. Strathomore should also be a

• Kenya Cup Week 6

  Posted: May 29, 2008, 2:45 pm by DataMiner

  The top three continued their march. Impala failed to get a point, losing to Nakuru. That saw them lose their lead and drop to second place. KCB remain the only unbeaten team in the league and gained the top ranking to lead the standings. Nakuru are tied second with Impala but on an inferior point difference. A solitary point separates the top three sides. Quins are nine points adrift in

• Weekly Ramble

  Posted: May 28, 2008, 1:26 pm by DataMiner

  An interesting article in todays Nation caught my eye. Teachers' Colleges are playing rugby and competitively? Apparently there are more people playing rugby than we think. Is all this done under the auspices of the Kenya Rugby Football Union? I wonder. Not my point anyway. With this vast number of "people" playing rugby in this country, I also wonder if there is any monitoring done on just

• Nightmares of the Rugby Type

  Posted: May 26, 2008, 1:57 pm by DataMiner

  That was my weekend for you. With hindsight not really surprising, but we mostly let our patriotism and hopes cloud our logic. You can read the Nation and the Standard reviews. The Monitor of Uganda also has this report. My thoughts follow. The Elgon Cup. I had listed the squad on this blog prior to the match. The squad seemed deliberately named in way to mask who would be in the starting

• No Points from Twickenham

  Posted: May 26, 2008, 2:17 am by DataMiner

  Kenya won only one game in two days of rugby, bowing out in the Shield final and failing to earn any points for the first time this season. A shield semi win against Moldova was the only cheer as Spain overturned the form book to deny us the trophy. Next tournament at the home of Sevens rugby in Scotland next weekend.

• No Points from Twickenham

  Posted: May 26, 2008, 2:17 am by DataMiner

  Kenya lost 7 10 to Spain in the Shield final to end the tournament with only a win against lowly Moldova in the semi of the same competition. They thus failed to earn a single point for the first time this season. Next tournament at the home of Sevens rugby in Scotland next weekend. See you then.

• Kenya Drop to Shield

  Posted: May 25, 2008, 6:05 pm by DataMiner

  A fourth straight loss to Australia 17 nil has consigned the lads to the lowest competition, the Shield.

• OK It's a Duck

  Posted: May 24, 2008, 12:03 am by DataMiner

  The first one in a long time. Samoa 28 Kenya 10. No comments for now. Have a good weekend.

• Kenya Cup Results

  Posted: May 24, 2008, 10:52 pm by DataMiner

  KCB 25 Mwamba 12 Impala 7 Nakuru 22 Quins 8 Mombasa 7 Nondies 10 Machine 28.

• Elgon Cup

  Posted: May 24, 2008, 10:33 pm by DataMiner

  Final score 20 3. I'll try and get a match analysis.

• Elgon Cup

  Posted: May 24, 2008, 10:11 pm by DataMiner

  Previous post was half time score.

• Elgon Cup

  Posted: May 24, 2008, 9:30 pm by DataMiner

  Uganda 20 Kenya 3

• Bad Day in the Office

  Posted: May 24, 2008, 8:18 pm by DataMiner

  Kenya continued to struggle to find their form, going down 17-7 to Russia in the second match. A strange decision to rest Denis Mwanja, our most prolific scorer came to haunt the team as they struggled against the intensely physical Russians. Kenya also seem to be struggling to find a match maker with Lavin Asego and Nato Simuyu struggling to combine or to effectively utilise space. Kenya are

• Kenya Lose Opener

  Posted: May 24, 2008, 5:11 pm by DataMiner

  Kenya have lost their opening match in the IRB Sevens, London leg to Scotland 17-5. Scotland were too organised in attack and we made basic errors (missed tackles) that put us on the back foot throughout the game. Next game Russia at 15:56. As an aside, the Crusaders will host the Waratahs in next weekend's Super XIV final after they convincingly overcame the Hurricanes and the Sharks

• Weekend Games

  Posted: May 23, 2008, 8:06 pm by DataMiner

  Despite the fact that over 34 players are currently out of the country on National Assignment, the Kenya Cup league continues. Mwamba host champions KCB, Nakuru host leaders Impala, Mean Machine are at home to Nondies and Mombasa to Quins. One or more of the top three must drop some points this weekend and the bottom of the table also seems set to take some re-alignment. On the international

• All Set for London Leg

  Posted: May 22, 2008, 7:41 pm by DataMiner

  The 7-a-side team is all set for the London leg of the IRB Sevens Series. You can read coach Benjamin Ayimba's pre-tournament comments here. The fixtures are all listed on the same site. Times are 3 hours behind ours (so add 3 to get local time). We wish the boys well.

• Weekly Ramble

  Posted: May 21, 2008, 7:08 pm by DataMiner

  I often wonder if the KRFU plays a direct role in the running of clubs. What support does the Union give to clubs in order to have a successful league? That a strong and successful league will lead to a strong national team is not in doubt, but just how much thought is put into maintaining an effective structure? Most leagues worldwide are structured with a wider base at the bottom and a

• Kenya Team to Uganda

  Posted: May 21, 2008, 12:27 pm by DataMiner

  Coach Michael "Tank" Otieno yesterday unveiled his side to face Uganda in the first leg of the Elgon Cup. Several new faces dot the squad and once more there is a good blend of youth and experience. The team leaves tomorrow morning for the game. The complete squad is as below. Daniel Kiptoo (Quins), Vincent Ongera (Quins), Frank Ndong (Impala), Derrick Wamalwa (France), Joel Nganga (Quins),

• Focus Turns to National Teams

  Posted: May 20, 2008, 6:56 pm by DataMiner

  Both the 7-a-side and the 15-a-side team have assignments this weekend. The London leg of the IRB Sevens Series is on Saturday and Sunday and the Elgon Cup first leg is in Kampala on Saturday. Despite the near disaster (read it here) that occurred on Sunday night, the 7's team is in high spirits and is rearing to go. They are determined to come back with enough points to maintain the fifth

• Weekend Games

  Posted: May 19, 2008, 1:03 pm by DataMiner

  Hi all. Let me apologise for not being on the ball this weekend. I was indisposed and did not have access to my data sources. My other contributor was also traveling and unable to provide updates. A good round up of the weekend games can be found here. It is turning out to be a very interesting league. The only result not posted is Nondies 12, Mombasa 15. Nondies picked up their first

• Weekly Ramble

  Posted: May 14, 2008, 8:53 pm by DataMiner

  The game of rugby is growing in leaps and bounds and there is no doubt about this. Worldwide it is a given but I usually wonder if our local game is attempting to match the pace. I have rambled a bit about our administrative structures and our playing capacity or abilities in the past, but these are just parts of the whole. I once again re-iterate that our union does not have a strategy in

• Kenya Cup Week 4

  Posted: May 13, 2008, 3:12 pm by DataMiner

  Well it's turning out to be a two horse race for the cup this season. The two sides, Impala and KCB have weathered quite some storms and come out unscathed. It was also a good week in that two sides registered their first wins of the season. Mombasa and Strathmore now leave Nondies as the only side yet to earn a point this season. That Strathmore could beat fancied Mwamba must be a tale for

• Kenya Cup Results

  Posted: May 11, 2008, 2:04 am by DataMiner

  Mombasa 11 Machine 3 Mwamba 17 Strathmore 34 Impala 22 Quins 12 Nakuru 13 KCB 23.

• Weekend Games

  Posted: May 10, 2008, 2:17 pm by DataMiner

  Kenya Cup resumes after a one week break with the following matches on the cards today. Nakuru host KCB, Impala host Quins, Strathmore host Mwamba and Machine are in Mombasa. Results to follow later today.

• Safari Sevens Gets Bigger

  Posted: May 8, 2008, 1:46 pm by DataMiner

  With the yesterday's announcements of the increased sponsorship from Tusker of Ksh. 24M and the confirmation that Fiji will grace this years event, the 2008 Tusker Safari Sevens will surely be the biggest ever. That Tusker have declared that they will pay Ksh. 18M of this directly to the KRFU should be music to KRFU's ears. In an earlier post, I had queried the role of sponsors in African Sports

• The Experimental Law Variations

  Posted: May 7, 2008, 8:21 pm by DataMiner

  The Experimental Law Variations or ELV's have been on trials in various parts of the world. You can catch up on these here and here. That the changes are drastic and will change the way rugby is played is fairly obvious and it is to be for the better of the game. The changes hope to increase the amount of time the ball is in play and hopefully the amount of action that occurs round the field.

• Weekly Ramble

  Posted: May 6, 2008, 3:38 pm by DataMiner

  The Great Rift Ten-a-Side has come and gone. Impala retained the title against Mwamba which was not surprising. I didn't get a chance to travel down, but I have always enjoyed 10-a-side rugby. The open spaces but with slightly more than 7 players makes it a reasonably paced game. I also believe it enhances our scoring abilities from broken down play. My ramble this week will be a bit

• Kenya Cup Takes a Break

  Posted: May 2, 2008, 3:08 pm by DataMiner

  Kenya Cup matches take a break this weekend to pave way for the Annual Great Rift Ten-a-Side competition. Most teams will travel for the event and it is perhaps a welcome break from the tough rugby that has been going on for the past 4 months. The rumble and tumble of the crowdedness of the 15-a-side pitch will give way to the open spaces and running associated with 10-a-side events. The only

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Fish cakes

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Yet more fish cakes

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