Kenya national rugby union team

Kenya
Union Kenya Rugby Football Union
Ground(s) RFUEA Ground, Nairobi
Coach(es) Jerome Paarwater
Team kit
Change kit
First international
Kenya  Kenya won  Tanganyika[1][lower-alpha 1]
(1954)
Largest win
Kenya  96 - 3  Nigeria
(1987-08-10)
Largest defeat
Kenya  12 - 84  Namibia
(2006-05-27)
Official website
www.kenyarfu.com

The Kenya national rugby union team is the Kenyan national team in Rugby. It is controlled by the Kenya Rugby Football Union.

The team participates at the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR) tournaments, but has never qualified for the Rugby World Cup.

A Kenya representative rugby team first played against the Royal Navy on 27 July 1925.This game billed as the first representative game was played at the Royal Nairobi Club and Kenya won 11-3.Two Royal Navy teams the HMS Chatham & HMS Effingham toured that year. A touring Combined South African Universities in 1929, starting a long tradition of Kenya national teams playing touring universities (mostly South African), clubs and military units (mostly Royal Naval vessels). Kenya played its first international in 1954, beating Tanganyika although the score of the game is not known. This fixture was repeated in 1955 and 1956 and then in 1958 Kenya played Uganda. These two countries were the major source of opposition for the side during the ensuing decades with matches being played frequently but irregularly as political problems in the region often interfered with fixtures. Zambia and Zimbabwe also provided regular opposition from the mid-1970s until the late 1980s when the formation of the CAR and the expansion of the World Cup provided opportunities to play competitively against many other nations. Its biggest win is against Nigeria, 96-3 on 10 August 1987 and worst defeat against Namibia 12-84 on 27 May 2006.

The Kenyan sevens team takes part in international Rugby sevens competitions and has been more successful than their XV counterpart. Their breakthrough season was 2008–09, in which they made the semifinals of the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens and advanced to one final and two semifinals in that year's IRB Sevens World Series. Before that, perhaps their most successful moment in sevens was beating rugby giant Australia in the London Sevens 2006, going on to reach the Final of the Plate competition. In the 2007 rugby sevens in New Zealand, Kenya went on to draw 2nd in their pot, beating such rugby giants as Argentina and Tonga, before being narrowly defeated in the quarter-finals by eventual runners-up Fiji.

Kenya compete annually against Uganda in the Elgon Cup.

During the 2011 Rugby World Cup – Africa qualification, Kenya was placed in pool C, and came away with a 76-8 win over Cameroon and a loss to Tunisia which means they did not qualify for the semi finals.

The home ground of Kenya national rugby union team is the RFUEA Ground in Nairobi.

International Results

Kenya scores a try against Tonga in rugby sevens.
Against Played Won Lost Drawn For Against % Won
 Arabian Gulf
2
2
0
0
61
41
100
 Botswana
1
1
0
0
80
9
100
 Cameroon
4
4
0
0
156
55
100
 Madagascar
3
0
2
1
60
73
0
 Morocco
3
1
2
0
37
74
33.33
 Namibia
5
1
4
0
68
267
20
 Nigeria
1
1
0
0
96
3
100
 Senegal
1
1
0
0
22
7
100
 Tunisia
5
2
3
0
94
163
40
 Uganda
16
11
5
0
372
274
68.75
 Zambia
1
1
0
0
33
10
100
 Zimbabwe
10
3
7
0
154
276
30
Total 52 28 23 1 1233 1252 53.85

2013 Africa Cup Squad

The Victoria Cup is the newest competition in African rugby; the 2010 season was the first year it has been held. Three teams, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe compete for this Cup in a format similar to that of the Tri Nations. Just as the Bledisloe Cup (Australia and New Zealand), Freedom Cup (New Zealand and South Africa) and Mandela Challenge Plate (Australia and South Africa) have been subsumed into the Tri Nations and as the Calcutta Cup (England and Scotland) is now part of the Six Nations, so the pre-existing Elgon Cup between Kenya and Uganda will from now on be played for within this new competition.

Current Squad

Kenya squad for the 2013 Namibian Tri-Nations.[2]

Backs
Player Position Club
Edwin Achayo Scrum-half Kenya Kenya Harlequin F.C.
Lyle Asiligwa Scrum-half KenyaKenya Harlequin F.C.
Kenny Andola Fly-half Kenya Strathmore University RFC
Lavin Asego Fly-half Kenya Kenya Harlequin F.C.
Nicholas Barasa Centre Kenya Kenya Harlequin F.C.
Patrice Agunda Centre Kenya Kenya Harlequin F.C.
Humphrey Kayange Centre Kenya Mwamba RFC
Collins Injera Wing Kenya Mwamba RFC
Michael Agevi Wing Kenya Mwamba RFC
Denis Muhanji Wing Kenya Kenya Harlequin F.C.
Tony Onyango Full-Back Kenya Strathmore University RFC
Forwards
Player Position Club
Samuel Warui Hooker Kenya Nakuru RFC
Moses Amusala Hooker Kenya Kenya Commercial Bank RFC
Max Adaka Hooker Kenya Kenya Commercial Bank RFC
Curtis Lilako Prop Kenya Kenya Commercial Bank RFC
James Kang'ethe Prop Kenya Nondescripts RFC
Joseph Kang'ethe Prop Kenya Nondescripts RFC
Wilson Kopondo (c) Lock Kenya Kenya Harlequin F.C.
Oliver Mang'eni Lock Kenya Kenya Commercial Bank RFC
Davis Chenge Lock Kenya Western Bulls
Mike Okombe Flanker Kenya Nakuru RFC
Brian Nyikuli Flanker Kenya Kenya Harlequin F.C.
Martin Owila Flanker Kenya Nakuru RFC
Ronnie Mwenesi Flanker Kenya Nondescripts RFC
Andrew Omonde Flanker Kenya Nondescripts RFC
Joshua Chisanga Number eight Kenya Homeboyz RFC

Recent call ups:

Backs
Player Position Club
Isaac Adimo Fly-half Kenya Kenya Harlequin F.C.
Oscar Ayodi Centre Kenya Homeboyz RFC
Tony Owuor Centre Kenya Strathmore University RFC
Cyprian Kuto Wing Kenya Strathmore University RFC
Fabian Olando Full-Back Kenya Kenya Commercial Bank RFC
Duncan Ekasi Full-back Kenya Impala RFC
Forwards
Player Position Club
Lawi Buyachi Prop Kenya Nakuru RFC
Isaiah Nyariki Prop Kenya Nakuru RFC
Dennis Karani Prop Kenya Kenya Harlequin F.C.

Recent Results

Kenya competes annually with the Uganda for the Elgon Cup, as well as competing for the Africa Cup. Kenya is currently one of four teams in division 1A of the Africa Cup which doubles as the Confederation of African Rugby qualification route for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Africa Cup 2013

Elgon Cup 2013

Africa Cup 2012

Vodacom Cup

The Simba XV logo

The Kenyan national team were also included in the South African domestic Vodacom Cup competition in 2014. In early 2014, the KRU confirmed that they would compete in the competition.[3] They would play in the Southern Section of the competition and be based in Cape Town, playing their home matches at City Park Stadium, Crawford.

Media sources started reporting in November 2013 that they would play in the competition[4][5] pending clearance by the IRB,[6] which was subsequently attained.[7]

The South African Rugby Union confirmed their participation on 5 February 2014.[8] The following day the KRU confirmed they will play as the Simba XV for the tournament (and known as Tusker Simba XV for sponsorship reasons).[9]

After initially indicating that they intend to once again enter a team in the competition in 2015[10] and being included in the fixture list for the competition, the Kenyan RFU announced their withdrawal from the competition a month before its scheduled start date due to financial considerations.[11]

Notable players

Notes

  1. ↑ The first match for both Kenya and Tanzania (Tanganyika at the time) took place in 1954 at Arusha. It was held shortly before the First Tuskers Copperbelt tour later that year and served as a selection trial for the tour. This match was won by Kenya though the exact score is not known. The next year the fixture was repeated, again at Arusha, Tanganyika winning by 11 points to 3. The third match occurred a year later in 1956, again at Arusha; Kenya winning this encounter 0-13.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kenya national rugby union team.

References

  1. ↑ Campbell (1960) pp41
  2. ↑ "Kenyan TRI-NATIONS SQUAD NAMED". Kenya Rugby Union. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  3. ↑ "KRU CHAIRMAN'S BRIEF" (Press release). Kenya Rugby Union. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "Kenya 15s land invite for Vodacom Cup in SA". The Star. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  5. ↑ "Kenya 15s begin 18-day Christmas break". Sports Fanatique. The People. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "Rugby team resumes training tomorrow". Sports Fanatique. The People. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Kenya 15s cleared by IRB to play in prestigious Vodacom Cup". Sports Fanatique. The People. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "Kenya to make Vodacom Cup debut" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  9. ↑ "It's Tusker Simba XV" (Press release). Kenya Rugby Union. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  10. ↑ "Chipu Make Olympics Debut". Odd-Shaped Balls Kenya. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  11. ↑ "KRU Decide to Skip South Africa's Vodacom Cup This Year". AllAfrica. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.

External links