A True Kenyan Sportsman

A Kenyan Sportsman
I talked to a former KCB rugby player who was the teams prop. For those who do not know who a prop is, maybe you have heard of the scrum. A prop is part of and a fundamental part of the scrum. He is a well, built man who does not need to support the fact that he was a rugby player, unlike, some of us. And by the look of him, he misses the game because, rugby is his life.
Wearing a striped white and green jersey, not just any jersey but the kind that is used in the sport, a humble and well kempt Edward Opiyo relaxes with me as we watch movies and have a polite chat. I ask him about rugby and the rest is what he had to say
“Rugby is under the ministry of groups, which is under the commissioner of groups who in turn is under the ministry of sports and culture.” I do not know how many people knew this because I did not, I just played high school rugby like most of you. I started a polite interview with Edward and this is what he had to say,
Why did he pick rugby to be his sport?
In school, the young man from St Mary’s yala, football was his passion but his coach told him that he was too heavy and his body was not meant for football. A devastated and sport loving Edward decided to give rugby a try and he propelled in it to a point of becoming a prop at KCB rugby team and even playing for the Kenya team. Though retired or should I say, he hung his boots, if you look at Edward or talk about rugby around him, you can still see his love and hunger for the sport
What teams does he love?
Locally, he loves KCB which is the team that he played for and internationally, he loves the South African (S.A) Blue Bulls, why? He just loves the team and how they play. Now that is a true rugby lover, its not about the popularity of the team, but the deliverance he gets from them.
Where does he see the Kenyan rugby team and where does he see it in the future?
The Kenya team is great, both the 7’s and the 15’s. good management and coaching can go a long way for them though. Sponsorship will also help and in about three years, you will see a difference in both the 7’s and 15’s teams, that is performance wise.
What would you tell the youth about rugby?
Rugby is great for you, as you will have a happy well relaxed mind, it is now a sport with money that can help you even pay your school fees, and it can give you a face and a name out there.
Statistics wise, what differences have you seen from the 1990’s to date in the sport?
It now has better management, training, both physical, mental and technical more money i.e. both funding to run the teams and for the players, efforts are being made to popularize the game and he tells me about he has seen three teams in western province (Kakamega) and three in Kisumu come up.
Which rugby tournaments are there?
He talked to me about six major tournaments that take place in the country and other smaller ones. The season starts with:
Kisumu Dala 7’s, Kabeberi 7’s, Mwamaba 7’s, Nakuru (Prince Lou) 7’s, Nairobi Christies 7’s, and Safari 7’s. For the smaller tournaments, comes the floodies and later the league.
As we talked, Edward was excited to tell me that KCB had won the floodies. This man is a loyal KCB fan and come what may, he told me that if he got a chance for one more run, he would go for it.
Would you let your kids play rugby?
According to Edward, he would tell them that it is their choice and encourage them to what they really want. He believes that you should let everyone search for their dreams because no matter what expectations you have for them, you can not kill a dream, just suppress it. Without giving support, you are killing a potential.
What do you think about academic and sport?
Education is paramount, sports has a time line i.e at some point in your life, you can not do sport, either from injury, age and such but school should always come first. You should be able to balance the two e.g. Collins Injera and Biko.
Rugby is making it in Kenya, what is wrong with Football?
More organizations favor rugby to football thus leaving football not fully exploited. In football, especially with the Kenya Football Federation (K.F.F) no one wants accountability of what happens. Its always a blame game thus no moving forward.
Conclusion
As you can see, rugby is a sport that has come from far and is now making headlines, not just locally, but internationally. People like Edward have been involved in this experience of the game and all I can say is we are lucky for such mashujaa rugby players like Edward. They were there when the game was young in te country, hustled through it and now, they can see the result of what they were fighting for so we can get in the future. Ama whats the meaning of a mashujaa to you?

Story by, Ken Kiambi