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2022 Rugby Review: Year of promise ends in disarray
Reading Time: 6min | Fri. 30.12.22. | 11:37
It was another case of so close yet so far for Kenya Simbas as they fell short of Rugby World Cup qualification
2022 has been a year to forget for Kenya Rugby with their flagship brands Kenya Sevens and Kenya Simbas closing the calendar with torrid results but the silver lining to the dark cloud has been the Kenya Lionesses.
Kenya Simbas
Many around rugby circles believed that harboured dreams of the Rugby World Cup qualification would be released this year after numerous close calls but the script was all too similar once again.
Simbas had rigorous preparations for the Rugby Africa Cup in which the winner would punch a ticket to the 2023 Rugby World Cup as they were admitted to the 2022 Currie Cup First Division.
The South African second-tier competition, that runs concurrently with the 2022 Currie Cup Premier Division offered stern competition for Simbas as they won a single match in the Rainbow Nation.
Their single victory came against the Border Bulldogs but the Simbas roared in their own backyard by claiming wins over Leopard and the Eastern Province Elephants with the games staged at the RFUEA Grounds.
Simbas then jettisoned to France for the Rugby Africa Cup and started the campaign with a 42-7 win over the noisy neighbours Uganda but were meant to sweat in the semi finals against Algeria, winning the game 36-33.
Just as in previous finals, Namibia proved a class above Kenya with a 36-0 whitewash in a game that the Simbas failed to turn up and offered very little in attack.
The defeat meant that Kenya dropped to the Repechage Qualifiers where a cross-regional play-off match is determined between Africa 2, Americas 3, Europe 3 and the loser of the Asia/Pacific play-off.
Simbas however went into the tournament hamstrung by financial challenges with the players failing to take to the pitch for training after the heavy defeat to the USA.
Portugal made mincemeat out of the Simbas with an 85-0 victory to end Kenya's hopes of World Cup qualification but bowed out of the tournament with a respectable 22-18 defeat to Hong Kong.
As curtains fall on the year, Simbas can draw positives from the Currie Cup First Division experience that our players benefitted from but the team is left without a head coach as Paul Odera’s contract elapsed.
Kenya 7s
This has been a nightmare year for Shujaa as they survived relegation by the skin of their teeth and posted an abysmal start to the 2022-2023 HSBC World Sevens Series but improved in the last two legs of the year.
The lethargic performances form Shujaa have been down to financial challenges which boiled over in late November after two players went public about a funding to sort out outstanding allowances forcing Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba to intervene.
So poor were Shujaa that they suffered 41 losses in all competitions this year as they failed to win a single game in both the England and Hong Kong legs of the world series.
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2022 was also the year for Rugby Sevens World Cup that was staged in South Africa where Shujaa finished 12th after losing to the USA in the 11th place playoff match following their loss in the Round of 16 clash against Argentina.
The Rugby Africa Cup saw Kenya post jaw-dropping results after losing to Madagascar in their final Pool clash and followed that up with a 22-12 loss to hosts Uganda in the semis which left them needing nothing short of a win to qualify for the World Cup against Zimbabwe which they did.
The insipid performances cost former head coach Innocent ‘Namcos’ Simiyu his job as Damian McGrath was trusted with the reins and has slowly been effecting chances on the pitch despite a myriad of challenges.
The year also saw Shujaa finish seventh in the 2022 Commonwealth Games after losing to New Zealand in the Main Cup quarter-finals and to Scotland in the 5th-8th place playoffs.
Kenya Lionesses
The Lionesses had a tough start to the year as they were bundled out of the 2022 Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens following a 19-5 loss to hosts Tunisia hence missing out on the Rugby Women's World Cup.
The disappointments for Lionesses continued to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series qualifies as their dream of becoming a core side was brought to a heartbreaking end after falling to a 15-22 defeat at the hands of Japan in August.
The Lionesses closed the year with an International Invitational Competition at the Dubai 7s where they suffered a plate semi-final defeat as they went down to a 12-29 loss against France Development.
The 15s side ended the year by winning the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup Pool B competition which guaranteed them a spot at next year’s Rugby Africa Cup which serves as a qualifier for the inaugural World Women 15s WXV in 2023.
Kenya Cup
The 2021-2022 Kenya Cup season served thrilling matches and massive upsets as Kabras Sugar RFC claimed their elusive second title at the expense of debut finalists Menengai Oilers.
Oilers had an impeccable season, as they stunned KCB RFC in the semi-finals to halt their run of four consecutive titles and punch their ticket to their maiden Kenya Cup final.
Kabras however had to do it the hard way as they trailed at halftime but turned on the style in the second half to win the title leaving Oilers to wait longer for the Kenya Cup.
The other end of the table also served some huge shocks as record Kenya Cup champions Nondescripts and 10-time champions Impala Saracens suffered relegation following a torrid season.
Mean Machine and Catholic Monks were promoted to the Kenya Cup to join fellow Varsity sides MMUST, Blak Blad, and Strathmore Leos.
National Sevens Circuit
The National Sevens Circuit witnessed a new champion as Menengai Oilers claimed the overall title after an outstanding season that saw them win their home leg, Prinsloo.
The series was tight as heading to the last leg in Kakamega, Strathmore Leos, KCB RFC, and Oilers all had a shot at the title but the latter booked a place in the final which they lost to Kabras but still lifted the overall title.
The Kabeberi 7s was lifted by KCB RFC, as Leos claimed Christie 7s while Mwamba were the surprise Driftwood 7s champions, and Homeboyz laid their hands on Dala 7s.
Oilers won Prinsloo 7s as Kabras ended the season in style by lifting Kakamega 7s to ensure that no team won a leg of the series twice.
The circuit also brought youngsters to the limelight with Branson Madigu and George Ooro from Leos, Daystar’s Patrick Odongo, and Derrick Abukuse from Oilers leaving a mark.
Cup competitions
Kabras edged KCB RFC 9-3 in an underwhelming final that saw both sides miss their big guns who were on duty in South Africa with the Kenya Simbas.
KCB made it four Impala Floodlit titles in a row and also became the record tournament champions (9) after beating Nondescripts 20-3 in a thoroughly entertaining final.
Barthes Cup
Kenya could not make it three titles in a row after suffering a 16-5 loss to Namibia in the semi-final but claimed bronze after beating Madagascar in the third-place playoffs.
The Barthes Cup was claimed by Zimbabwe who edged Namibia 19-14 to bag their fourth title.
