 Good afternoon and welcome back to the Touchline on Y25. My name is Max Oluwastiko. Ngaura Robert Osora has left a little bit, but she is going to be back during the fans' fan favourite segment to give focus on international football. But right now, it's matters right now, we're reviewing Las Vegas performance with focus on what Kenya 7 has done. So of course two consecutive group losses against South Africa, United States of America alongside France. We're going to play the last clash tonight, 11.58 against Argentina. Iwona mai joins us. Iwona habibin. Okay, I'm okay. What's your opinion with regards to what is happening in Las Vegas? I think... Okay, first let me make a very bold statement. Yes. Kenya might miss the Olympics 2020. Let's start from there. So I think despite the talent, again there's a huge leadership gap that is lacking just to give the X Factor that the team needs to perform at the 7's World Series. Wow. Just to actually reverberate to what she said, we might miss out on the Olympics. Reason being, as we speak, South Africa blitz boka at number 5 in the standings and therefore that means they'll be required to qualify for the Olympics in Tokyo next year. If blitz boka come back to qualify, then it becomes a problem for Kenya on the African continent. But anyway, that won't be addressed later on. So I guess as guys supporting Kenya, they should also be supporting South Africa so that they finish fourth. Look, I don't know why guys are acting shocked. We knew it was coming, we knew this was going to be the case. With the conditions that these guys have been given, it was going to be very tough for them to produce any results as what we've seen previously. With all the rangos that have been happening within the Kenya Ragunion and the politics that are in there, it was going to be very difficult for these guys to perform to the level that we are used to seeing on the 7's. Because you see, when it came out that these players are going to have to take a pay cut, of course in the senior players were not going to take that. It's just like any other job, I mean if one, if your job tells you today you're going to take a pay cut, you're going to leave. Even if it's significant. So incoming the young boys and while their talent experience is very important and exposure on the international stage is very important, which most of these guys don't have. And that's why we've seen the results that we're seeing. My only fear is that we continue performing like this and then we get to the point that we're getting relegated. I mean France is not even a core team on the 7 circuit yet they're beating us weak in a week out this year. So it's sad but you always congratulate these boys because with the conditions that they've been given, it was going to be very hard to achieve anything more than what they're doing right now. I remember interviewing Sacha Mutai, one of the Kenya rugby union presidential candidates and he says that we have a pool of talented players just like he says but the current environment doesn't favor their performance, even the technical. I don't know, from where you see it you've been actively involved in rugby, you have much experience with regards to this, to the same. What do you attribute our horrible performance to? Is it because of these young players who don't have experience and considering that most everywhere it's refused to sign contracts over the pay cut or is it because of the transition in technical, bench takeover? What might be the reason behind the awful show in Las Vegas? It's a basic lack of consistency in every element of the team from the environment, how change is managed in the team and everything. Talent is one thing but it takes a lot more for actually that talent to translate into results over the past few years and even by the time we were getting to the era where we made almost a hundred points when we were with Mike Friday, there was a system that was introduced which basically translated the high performance training that the team was taking into results at performing at that level. The level of the Seven Swall series is a different competitive level so psychologically and even physically you have to be prepared for it so no matter what you do, unless you recreate that environment in your training then you're not going to achieve it. What the foreign coaches helped us realize is that environment is everything. What you do before is what will determine whether you'll perform or not and that's what Simiyu picked up, that's what Ayimba picked up and sort of tried to continue. The rangos that happen on the political side of the game affect that consistency because we've not been consistent in how we manage the progression of these players. Some of these players we cry that we need all the time are people individually that are consistent even in their training. The individual training is consistent to the high performance routine that they were exposed to way back as long as 2013. The way they conduct themselves on and off the pitch attributes to the high performance training that they were exposed to during that period. So it's easy for them to come and deliver even on short notice. Those are players we will call up. We are seeing even their impact in the Kenya Cup. It's not a matter of their well known names or they have done a lot for the country but it's a matter of the culture. They are being consistent and that's why they are always hardly affected with the rugby events within rugby. So our issues is just that lack of consistency. The exposure. You have to remember there was a time we had a lot of players representing turning out for different rugby outfits in satellite tournaments. That's one of the key things that Mike Friday actually brought during his time. He opened up the talent to satellite tournaments. So he had a pool of players who would play in the 7s world series but his remaining pool of players were not sitting back here and playing our local league. They were either attached to Samurai, attached to other clubs playing the satellite tournament that are also part of the world series. So that competition, it has to be very strategic and even when you talk about strategic partnerships those are some of the key things that we should be looking for. We should be looking for more professional outfits who will absorb all this talent because if you watch the local 7s circuit you have to admit we have really good players. We can easily call in 50 players who will be able to contain the high performance that is required to perform at national level but if they are not consistently exposed to that then we are not doing them any justice. I think the litmus test will be Hong Kong where we will see our competition we will see Zimbabwe in action Uganda in action so if that will give us an idea of how our qualification to Olympics will actually turn out to be and if we look back at the previous years Zimbabwe have been very consistent it's only last year the last season that they missed out reaching the finals but they are always reaching the finals of the Hong Kong qualifier tournament so even as we are looking at Blitzboke not performing we also have a very huge threat in Zimbabwe who also last time almost cost us a place in the Olympics it wasn't that last mini tombati effort we were out as Zimbabwe was going to go to the Olympics so we have to look at the landscape from that the consistency some of our neighbor Uganda what are they doing Zimbabwe we have to remember most of their players play in Europe so they are exposed to that high level of competition even if they qualify for the 7s world series they are going to have a very good pace they are going to be very consistent in the number of points that they are going to accumulate per leg Uganda our neighbors are playing here in our Kenya Cup and they have a strategic partnership with cheaters in South Africa so they are getting exposed their whole team went down to South Africa for that training so if teams, institutional teams like KCB would replicate the same then it means there is something lacking at national team level that is limiting the performance of some of our players by the time OJ was being appointed captain of the team I think the coach had that mindset to sort of try and instill because OJ as a player even the environment that he is exposed to he is a leader and we just say he is a Rutwan guy he is always knowing that I have to cover this ground and I have to gain as much as possible because the end means that if I don't score then I am not performing so I think our greatest undoing is the lack of consistency and I don't think it should be limited to only political but also technical Kenya Sevens is well known for their glittering show on international front of course besides the athletic switches also an individual sport I've raised Kenyan flag so high but the government the role of the government is also instrumental in trying to motivate the team I don't know do you think the government's failure to support Kenyan boys can also be attributed to their horrible show in the last three legs now in the beginning of this segment we talked about how important it is for federations to run the sports world our sports results in this country at least is based on how federations run it we talked about that when we were starting this the government on two separate articles in the last one week have come out saying that they will only go back into supporting Kenya rugby after the elections of the Kenya rugby union that should show you something about what the government is thinking about supporting the Kenya rugby union so while granted yes we want to there is sort of accountability doubts exactly if it's not government it's corporate Kenya no one really has confidence in the game and that's what the problem is coming in so let's not shy from a fact all these things we keep on talking about it boils down to the consistency one is talking about it boils down to good management it boils down to accountability as you're putting it it boils down to money being in there because all these systems development everything you require money that's all that says no romance without finance I know it's a different thing altogether but it boils down to the same thing we just need to get our house in order if at all we're going to see the results that we've been expecting or we've gone to expect from the Kenya 7s team and the Kenya 15s team we just need to get our house in order in whatever way we need to proceed with it and Kenya rugby union elections looming around the corner I think happened next this month in March do you think the outcome of the polls might determine the dynamics and landscape in terms of performance of the 7s you know the most things will change or they will remain you know the most like they are right now the most unfortunate thing and I speak for rugby is and I want to blame both sides I want to blame the funds and I want to blame the people who've been given the mantle to run the game I blame the funds because they don't get involved in the running of their clubs they ask your supporters you're a supporter of a club whether it's Hale Kunzo that's KCB with it's cabras but you're not involved in the day-to-day running of the club so when the AGMs come up and the elections come up you end up choosing people very flimsy people who represent you at national level now these are the people who end up choosing the people who are going to run the game so from that perspective I do blame the funds in letting the game go the way it's gone on the other hand I also do blame the people who now become tasked with running the game because you get there and for some reason you stop focusing on growing the game you start focusing on individual targets for lack of a better word so however way it goes and whoever comes in you only hope that it's somebody who's going to have the game attacked somebody who is not really driven by their personal interest and if it's personal interest it's to see the game grow it's to see the game reach the heights which I believe we can be able to achieve in this country so however it goes I just hope that whoever comes in is really focused on growing the game because the game has taken a really big hit in the last four years of their bouts even as we speak right now the current boss of Kenya Ragbin on Richard Omoela has been trying to seek at the continental level to be the vice president of Ragbin Africa but he recently was crying foul and saying that he is getting shortchanged by Ugandan counterparts and there was that sort of argument that is being violated going by his words of course I spoke to him and he confirmed the same the performance of Ragbin locally can it play an integral role in the success of one over one who is seeking leadership at not only continental level but even international scene as well yes yes yes it plays a very very very huge role I think despite any successes that Richard has had in the previous years the past two years have not done him justice at all because you have to remember he was vying for re-election for chairmanship with the promise that sponsors wanted him actually that was the political tagline that he was using that sponsors have demanded that he comes in retrospect he was actually looking for that chairmanship so that he could strengthen his position going into the elections for Ragbin Africa you see the thought was there but the intent was never clear and even as Garuia talks about the funds and the members you will notice that also before these elections usually the audited accounts are usually released at least a month before to the elections there are no audited accounts this year they have not been released typically no matter who is coming to office they are coming in with already half a board decided you know so they have to really bulldoze their way in so Bakhto Richard I think everyone was looking at Kenya they have been able to see what is going on and you see not everything makes it to the media but the whispers that go around and you have to remember that anybody who comes out or goes out to play for Kenya ideally should be an ambassador of the Kenya Ragbin union if they are going to represent their country you have to remember we have been sending our referees there are some players so all these people if they are disgruntled then it is something that will reach the the Ragbin Africa and we also had issues around the Africa Gold Cup in the previous years and Omoela was one of the people who was very vocal about how things should be done and his reception basically of some of the things that the Ragbin Africa was trying to do which was going to develop the game what are costing him any votes so I think it is his own undoing and at least now it came out to the light why he was trying to buy for chairmanship a second time and I don't think we should hold or rather I don't think Uganda is obligated to remain in a pact that's not working for them because you have to remember if we go as far back as a decade back Uganda helped Kenya it helped Kenya Uganda was better than us rank wise our 15s was dindling and they were the first ones to open the door for us the whole thought around RFUA as an East African organization the core people at that time were Uganda and Kenya so when Kenya was down Uganda picked our hand but what have we done for Uganda you know just Elgon Cup a routine cup has just become an issue just consistently going on Uganda the women's rugby I even independently run they have the women's rugby union you know and the goal was to accumulate enough talent and they were working towards beating Kenya at the women's Elgon Cup because it became a benchmark you know while Kenya was going to western province rugby union Uganda was going to Cheetahs you know so there was that healthy competition and unfortunately Kenya has not done its part diplomatically to actually to actually encourage or rather maintain that relationship that the people before has created Ngaruguna speak about Kenya rugby union elections happening this man I understand there is a debate that will be happening next week at Statsmo University three candidates have already declared the interest to contest for the top seat seeking to replace Chammuta he's been at the helm as a Kariu vice chairman and Kariu director as well Jeff Ganglau he's been also in charge of one of the top clubs locally alongside Uiroa Siko who was also in charge of KCBI I think some time back of course after withdrawal of Joffrey Ward who has said that he will be seeking the position of Kariu director I don't know getting into the dynamics of elections we've had elections before another sporting disciplines and a lot of promises from aspiran seeking to get elected but they never get to be implemented upon their victories from these three men who express their interest to get elected I don't know we know the best he had stick to rate who is the best but getting into the polls I don't know what might be award to the electorate those people from a paramount fact of you know electing the 58 58 people are going to be voting or the 58 votes each kanyakap team has two votes nationwide and championship have one vote each and the executive committee of the union has a vote each so that means the chairman the vice chairman the treasurer and the secretary general have a vote Odore Gangles currently the secretary general so you can almost predict how that vote is going to go in terms of the executive committee but anyway to the electorate you need to look out for the interest of the game you need to stop looking out for selfish interest you need to bring in someone who you believe is going to attract back corporate Kenya the job nowadays is that all the money that used to come into rugby through corporate Kenya now has gone to golf so you need to bring in someone who is going to attract the corporates back you need to bring in someone who is in my view going to really focus on the 15th team because remember our rankings depend or rather our rankings are determined by the game of 15th the game of 7th does not determine anything when it comes to rankings so we need somebody who is going to focus on the Kenya symbols because that's the only way we improve our ranking number one and number two we increase our money that's coming from world rugby right so we then have enough money to implement all these things we keep on talking about age grade rugby the structures that were needed the sub unions in Kenya so we need to focus on we need to get somebody who is going to do exactly what I've asked about Yvonne your take with regards to career elections I remember you served under Mwangimu they did exceptional well during his term as Kenya rugby union president and what's your opinion with regards to the upcoming polls and the candidates who've expressed their interest to get elected I know all of them are saying that they have proven track record they have got what it takes they have competence qualifications and I remember it having such a mutai and he highlighted about the mechanisms the structures he seek to put in place in case elected he says sponsorship has been quite elusive and as Nara says no corporate confidence in the leadership and also the government accountability doubts now that they have said that they will be coming on board after the elections which means they have some sort of doubts with regards to the current leadership what would be your opinion I think I am very excited about the debate it's the first time that at least outsiders like us can actually go and question because I think the electorate needs a lot of education in terms of just interpreting manifestos rugby apart the word elitist in association with rugby is about also in the way things are done we of all the unions of all the unions in Africa apart from South Africa actually meant to get much more in terms of grant coming through the world rugby but a little that we've been getting we haven't been able even to account for it despite championing or rather being used to champion some of them some of the strategies that world rugby was going to use to promote rugby following and participation in Africa so the electorate needs to understand that competency or not competencies is not the question here the things or the promises that are being made should be actionable because for us for somebody like me and Gary it's very easy to go and question and say how are you going to achieve this and we're hoping that's what will come out from the debate for the electorate to consume the issue about 15th focus as opposed to 7th focus it's not it's not something that it's going to be relatively new you know while rugby in itself uses the 7th game to commercialize the game of rugby and 15th to grow participation of rugby so it's not going to be something new all we need right now is for the electorate to understand from the three candidates who is actually going to do things and in what period because we have always fallen victim to right now what is happening out of these three people they are busy giving away kids and both and ultimately that vote will be decided in that tent at the air if you will the biggest the thickest word of nodes will win the votes unfortunately you get sad reality the sad reality it's the sad reality so you find that achakri record is nothing in sport you're only as good as your last game last game you know so it means if I'm going in for 90 minutes of football right now the results after 90 minutes is what will determine my competency or not you know otherwise we would have players would have some of the best players not trained at all but you look at the best performing rugby team the obak strain day in day out you know they have the biggest pool of players to choose from you know so track record does not give you leeway or rather does not give anyone assurance that you're going to do it we need to understand the actionable points actionable points so I'm excited about the debate because it gives us a chance to question some of these manifestos that are out there so that the votes this time are not limited to to who has the biggest word of nodes you know all this talk about sponsorship everyone is always quick to talk about that we saw muela come in with the same notion yeah so anyone who's going to sit and tell us we're going to try and attract sponsors is lying to us because the system already is already broken from inside Kenya rugby union was one of the first sports federations to actually have a secretariat who are going to implement the workings of the union so that the political army separate from the administrative army but what has that secretariat been boiled down to you know they have reduced the work of the secretariat to managing you know does the team have visa you know basically you're putting people who actually the rugby knowledge is way above because even world rugby trained some of the secretariat yeah two professionals doing work exactly they are not mandated to exactly but now what has become of it you know we want to listen to the operational actionable points from the manifestos all this talk about sponsors if you do your work right the sponsors will come they will have something to buy into because we're going to wind up before we do we'll slightly speak about Kenya Cup which is ongoing I know it's competitive it's totally contested but last weekend KCB against Cabras for some mouthwatering clash I don't know from where you see it you've been following the proceedings of the game what do you assess of the run so far in Kenya Cup circuit it's very interesting actually one silver lining in the heavyweights not going for the 7th circuit is that they have come to play at the Kenya Cup and that has really raised the standards which we are seeing especially amongst the top six clubs it's been a very interesting season it's been a very exciting season I always look forward to every Saturday when I'm going to be watching a game you have the likes of Nondis who are now in the playoff position of course everyone has been talking about Cabras because of the investment that they've put in and the three South Africans that have come in Henle Duplice as a coach but then we saw what happened last week against KCB some sort of positive vibe amongst people because of we have made in Kenya, built in Kenya and look at the old KCB and they've been able to beat Cabras so it's a very interesting season we have another maybe five weeks there five, six weeks before we get to the playoffs and I can just urge whoever's watching if you have and I'm sure you have a free Saturday and there's nothing much you're really doing on Saturday unless you're going for a wedding just go to the nearest ground and watch the Kenya Cup action it's fantastic this year Ibon you've also invested heavily in marketing and Kenya Cup man the rugby's attracting huge crowds turn out I don't know what might be the secret behind this relating show from passionate rugby lovers and even before you respond to that particular question I know the presence of heavyweights players who've graced national team playing for this local club the likes of Andrew Amande for KCB Danse Kuta for Cabras rugby football club are they raising the magnitude and profile of the championship actually it's nothing new Kenya Cup has relatively enjoyed Kenya Cup actually enjoys crowds and they're very consistent the thing is the people who go to 15 the actual rugby fans are actually fans of the game a friend of mine was telling me that 15 is real rugby 7 is cosmetic yes yes yes yes actually 7 was usually played on Sundays it was a family hang out and a few guys would throw the ball around or the family so 15 is the real rugby so it enjoys a solid crowd it enjoys a solid crowd go to any Kenya Cup game you won't find less than 2,000 people on the field unless it's a dubby then you are talking about 4, 5,000 but Kenya Cup actually enjoys it's not relatively new with the crowds however having the players back home is just that sense of we see them so much on TV and now they are right here you know it generates some excitement we've seen players literally you know a player has open space to run but because this is somebody who is played on TV they run right next they go for the contact as opposed to running into space so it actually makes the game exciting and you know what's exciting about 15 is the bang bang is the contact so it's actually exciting because of that and it's very inspiring actually because we've seen people step up a lot, a lot, a lot if min machin could beat could beat Halliquins I think black blood actually we need to get a time and tree debate on the institutional frameworks and clubs coming from institutional backgrounds black blood from Kenyatta University min machin from University of Nairobi kwe Catholic monks and you know their performance and probably private universities I think they have invested in scholarship that's why they are doing good as compared to public thank you for your time thanks for coming through even your prediction ahead of Argentina clash tonight I know it's a late kickoff Argentina will beat us you see Kusapo Batallion will be watching Argentina will beat us they are not heavyweights in rugby though they are not heavyweights but if you watch the game they have played against USA you know USA has sort of they have this pride in Las Vegas they want it they really show up they own it and you see and you see how they have been playing this season so Argentina beating USA was a statement for them you know it was a huge hit statement and you see they have won two games so I think they will beat us are we qualifying to the main cup kutas ngaro no it's a Daniel now because you already won two games it's a Daniel it's got to be tough so we wait for the next leg to see whether things will turn out we wait for Vancouver to see if things are going to improve thank you for your time thanks for coming through it's been the review of Las Vegas happening on the touchline on Y25 for this particular afternoon we are talking about the sports locally, continentally and even on international scene my name is Max Oluwasi we are going to be coming up next to the fan zone where we give focus on international football several fixtures are happening this particular weekend Northland and Derby kicking off in a few minutes from now as we speak Arsenal against Spass Den there is a classical tonight's water game pulsating clash Madrid the Los Blancos the Catalan of Barcelona happening at 10.45pm East Africa in time that will form the basis for discussion don't go and stay tuned this is the touchline