Will Kenya survive World Sevens Series relegation battle this season?

Newly elected Kenya Rugby Union chairman Geoffrey Oduor Gangla. [Courtesy]

Will Kenya survive World Sevens Series relegation battle this season?

Or will the newly elected Kenya Rugby Union chairman Geoffrey Oduor Gangla come to the rescue of the sinking Shujaa ship?

It might be premature but these are some of the unfamiliar questions on the lips of many Kenyans keenly following the dwindling fortunes of the former Singapore Sevens champions. Kenya became a core member of the IRB Sevens circuit in 2004.

But as evident from their current position, 14th, on the overall standings after garnering a paltry 18 points from the opening six legs, Shujaa are literally struggling to be at their usual best this season. The team is only four points above the relegation zone.

So, what is actually bedeviling the team that once sent shivers among opposition teams and produced some of the best players in the world.

Though Shujaa have relegation survival in their own hands starting with the upcoming Hong Kong Sevens, they will also depend on Japan’s performance in the remaining four legs starting with next month’s Hong Kong (April 5-6) and Singapore (April 13-14) legs.

But how did Shujaa find itself in this situation? Was it a set up by the union for Paul ‘Pau’ Murunga to fail on his first tenure as Kenya’s coach?

Murunga has had to do without 14 senior players since the beginning of the season after they broke ranks with the KRU board over contractual issues.

 

Stars absence

The absence of all-time second top try scorer Collins Injera, former captain Andrew Amonde, Eden Agero, Samuel Oliech, Billy Odhiambo, William Ambaka, Nelson Oyoo, Dennis Ombachi, Leonard Mugaisi and Dan Sikuta has proved costly as the side is yet to reach a cup quarter-final in the series this season.

And even as Gangla, an immediate former KRU Secretary General, insists that all the 14 seasoned players have resumed training after agreeing on a return to work formula, a number of the players seems to have declined the Union’s offer of two months.

“We are engaging all the senior players and we are making progress. Some players have already signed the contracts while  others have made commitment. This game is for everybody and we cannot afford to exclude anyone. So, let’s wait and see those who will be selected by the coach to do duty in Hong Kong,” Gangla told Standard Sports.

“The Union’s main problem has been its financial account. The team has massively grown but the funding has not been there.

“We have just come into office and our first priority is to engage the sponsors and the Ministry of Sports to see how best we can work together to bring rugby to where it’s supposed to be. But I am confident we will bring sanity back into the game.”

Trouble started when the senior players rejected the reviewed contracts by the Union ahead of the 2018/2019 season.

The Union, who have been experiencing a financial crisis since SportPesa withdrew their sponsorship, wanted to pay the senior players Sh 100,000, or less.

This was a significant drop from last season, when they were earning between Sh120,000 and Sh170,000.

Though the senior players are concerned with Shujaa performance, they feel the Union is not doing enough to address their issues.

“Just like the other Kenyans, we are all concerned with the team’s performance but the board needs to improve players’ welfare. They believe on short term solutions and no one wants to sort out the root cause of the problems in the team,” said a senior player who sought anonymity.

“The Union offered us a two-month contract. Both parties had reached a compromise but some of us felt we had been short-changed because our grievances had not been addressed. The Union wanted us to finish the remaining four legs and then review the contracts later.”

He added: “I think four players have joined the rest of the team. But others opted out due to various reasons. Most of us haven’t played for over four months and it will be difficult to get our bodies back to high conditioning level in such a short time.

“We started this conversation way back in December but the negotiations broke down when the management saw the team has done well in a certain leg.

“They had forgotten us now they are coming back when it’s very late. All the same, I don’t think we will be relegated. What we need to do is get good points and finish above our relegation rivals.

“Actually, we are not on a go slow as perceived by many. We were just given new contracts, but we didn’t take them. We are available for selection starting with the Olympic qualifiers.”

This is not the first time the national team has found itself into this situation. In the 2014/2015 season during Paul Treu’s tenure, the team flirted with relegation for the better part of the campaign after the senior players put down their tools over unpaid dues.

The South African’s predecessor Benjamin Ayimba was also rocked by a similar disputes.

 

Goose is cooked

And according to Ayimba, the goose is cooked and it will need a ‘miracle’ for the national team to avoid the axe.

With only four points separating Japan and Kenya, Murunga’s men have their work cut out heading to Asia for the Hong Kong Sevens.

“We definitely need a miracle to survive and that will need everyone involved in the game to dig deep. The players will play a major role. Unless we get to the quarter-finals in the next two legs, we are not safe,” Ayimba said.

“Our goose is cooked and Japan is our main threat here, that’s the reality. And since we are going to Asia for Hong Kong Sevens, we have a difficult task. We will only be safe if Japan don’tcome to party in the next two legs, which I think is not possible.

“We will be in more trouble if they pull a surprise in Europe (London and Paris). In essence, our survival hopes banks on Japan’s performance. The situation is worse than in 2015 and there is nothing Pau can do. It’s unfortunate that he’s found himself into this situation.

“If those senior players have the country at heart, this is the time they should shown their patriotism because once we get relegated it will be difficult to get promoted back.”

Former Kenya Sevens coach Innocent ‘Namcos’ Simiyu, who led Shujaa to its highest ever points haul of 104 last season, blamed poor governance for the team’s woes.

“The fundamental problem is not the players but the leadership at the union. There is a lot of dishonesty and politics.

“If the governance structures change to allow the stakeholders of the game to sit at board level then we will not have these issues,” Simiyu said in a past interview.