NAIROBI, Kenya, August 22 – Mwamba Rugby Football Club (RFC) chair Jason Rosario has asked fans for patience amidst the team’s struggles in the ongoing National Sevens Circuit (NSC).
Rosario acknowledged that it has been a painful period for Kulabu’s diehard fans but exuded confidence it is just a passing cloud.
“These are very painful moments for the hardcore and diehard fans of the club but we hope it is one of those traps that we will surely come out of. With the continued support of the broader rugby community, we will get out of this,” he said.
The chair admitted the club is in transition with a number of its players seeking life outside rugby – coupled with lack of resources to sufficiently replace them.
“As you know, Mwamba is a community club. We rely on the kinds of partnership without which resources become a problem. These resources are a way of attracting and keeping players in the club and exposing them to the highest levels of the game. In the absence of such partnerships, resources become constrained and it becomes difficult to attract and retain these players,” Rosario said.
The club lie 14th on the circuit standings with nine points after three legs.
Their performance in the last leg of the NSC at the Dala 7s in Kisumu saw them reach the semis of the Challenger Cup where they lost 17-10 to Kabete Stallions.
The result was enough to avoid relegation and having to need an invite to this weekend’s Kabeberi 7s – a scenario Rosario says would have been embarrassing considering they are the hosts.
“There are two objectives when we entered the circuit: to avoid being relegated week in, week out and having to be invited to subsequent…and number two, definitely to avoid having to be invited to our own tournament (Kabeberi 7s). We have managed our second objective following our performance in Kisumu last weekend,” he observed.
A key headache afflicting the powers that be at Kulabu is the lack of a permanent home since 2014 following the construction of the Greenpark Bus Terminus, which resulted in the demolition of their Nairobi Railways fortress.
Rosario reiterated that finding a permanent abode is on the top of their to-do list.
“Indeed, it has been very frustrating after we lost our permanent home at the Railway Grounds. We have been using Upperhill Secondary School as a training ground in the meantime and also just to establish a partnership with the school. However, we are working on finding a permanent home ground,” he said.
The four-time NSC champions will be hoping for improved fortunes when they host the fourth leg at RFUEA Grounds from Saturday to Sunday.
They are in Pool D alongside Masinde Muliro University, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and Mount Kenya University Thika.
Speaking on the overall preparations for the event, Rosario said it is all systems go and invited fans for a memorable weekend.
“We are truly excited to be hosting you here at the RFUEA Grounds and at the Impala Grounds just across from here. We have a few surprises that I cannot divulge as per now. We do hope all those who will come out over the weekend will enjoy themselves,” he said.
Action begins Friday with age-grade and veterans’ rugby before Division 1 and 2 matches on Saturday and Sunday.
