KRU's unending musical chairs

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

As much as the Kenya Rugby Union officials would want to deny, their house seems to be in a turmoil.

KRU has once again been left with an egg on their face after national rugby 15s assistant coach Murray Roulston resigned yesterday citing broken promises, unpaid salaries and late payments by the country's rugby governing body.

This comes barely a week after KRU dominated the headlines for all the wrong reasons following the Paris Sevens sponsorship fiasco where the playing unit concealed Brand Kenya's 'Make it Kenya' logo on their jerseys over pay dispute.

Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala then instructed Brand Kenya to cancel its eight-month Sh20million sponsorship with the Kenya Rugby Union citing breach of contract.

The union then muscled its muscles and sacked head coach Innocent Simiyu, who had taken full responsibility of the Paris debacle.

Simiyu has since been reinstated after Cabinet Secretary for Sports Rashid Echesa's intervention on Monday.

But even before the dust has settled, Roulston, who did not travel with the team to Casablanca, Morocco, where they defeated hosts 28-24, has come out to expose KRU's management ineptitude.

Roulston claims that he, together with head coach Ian Snook, who signed a two-year deal after succeeding South African Jerome Paarwater, have owed several months salary arrears.

"Yes, I have resigned due to many issues and late work payment; not only to myself but to the players, the technical management team and Snook himself," said Roulston, who grabbed the microphone and dropped the bombshell immediately Snook finished announcing the match day squad yesterday.

"I am not getting into details, but just know we have not been paid. We were promised a lot of things. There is issue after another. We thought things would be better.