The benefits of hindsight are very often understated. Looking back now, that last RVA game that won us the Prescott cup should not have been as difficult for us as it turned out to be. Except that RVA was the kind of side that over the years always closely studied their opponents and then devised intricate game plans to counter them.
This came out very clearly in the combined schools matches we had both in 1982 and 1983. Other schoolboys always managed to fit in very well and do their thing. But RVA players selected always had a hard time fitting in and were inevitably a pale shadow of themselves playing for the combined schools side. It was obvious that most of these RVA players needed careful and detailed instructions from the coach, practised to perfection for them to do their thing. This was of course not possible with the limited time we had to assemble and prepared for matches.
Looking back now they had obviously pinpointed the strengths of that ’82 side and devised a plan to shut them down. It was that simple. That is the reason why folks in key positions for us that day like Kimwele, Jango Otieno, Wesonga, PJ Okiro and Jim Ayoki could hardly breathe nor find room to give us the usual breaks we were accustomed to. At Full Back there were no easy up-and-unders for me to catch and kick to touch. I was also kept extremely busy tackling even scrum players.
And so it is hardly surprising that in the end we won by digging deep into our reserves and also by having other good but previously unnoticed players on the side like Nigger Odhiambo getting the opportunity to rise to the occasion.
The Prescott cup was presented to the captain and we did several laps of honor on Stirlings to celebrate. That would be the last game the super ’82 side played and what a fitting climax it was.
Away from rugby there was plenty else that happened in 1982. Headmaster since 1978, Ndau Kanyi had departed for his masters degree at Harvard in mid 1981 and Monk had been acting in his capacity since. He had embarked on a campaign to single-handedly raise the standards of discipline in the school that had taken everybody by surprise. One incident in particular sticks out in my mind like a sore thumb.
It was Monday and after the usual Monday morning parade Monk spoke sternly to the school about bullying and indiscipline and at the end of his speech called out the names of two people. One was a fifth former and the other one was in sixth form. He then proceeded to cane the fifth former in full view of the entire school. Jaws dropped in sheer shock and astonishment at what was happening before our very eyes. Next was the sixth former who bravely and very wisely started walking away in the direction of the school prefect who was on duty that day, Otieno Jango. Monk shouted out at Jango ordering him to “arrest” the said sixth former. It was a tough call but what Jango did next was both fascinating and in my view extremely wise quick thinking on his feet. He made as if to grab hold of the sixth former as he rapidly walked past and then pretended to have been unable to hold on to him. The way you would pretend to want to tackle somebody on a rugby pitch that you really had no intention of tackling. And so you make it look like you tried your best but missed the tackle.
Jango our star fly half in 1982 had never missed a tackle. Playing at Full Back I had to know where the missed tackles would leave me vulnerable and I can tell you that the fly half NEVER EVER missed his tackles. BUT that day he was unable to stop the sixth former. He missed "that tackle" LOL!!!
Monk dismissed the school shortly after that and as we went for classes we tried to analyze what we had just witnessed. The school had always ran on a rigid seniority system and discipline was maintained by students in lower forms respecting their seniors. What would happen now that the unthinkable had taken place in front of the entire school? What impact would it have?
Rabbles were of course delirious and excited at this turn of events. Some of them later said in my hearing that this was effectively the end of bullying and the seniority system at Lenana that enabled seniors to virtually get away with any kind of excessive violence and bullying that they would choose to engage in.
But as second term came to a close I had plenty of other things on my mind. The third term would see the naming of 4 or 5 school prefects from amongst the fifth formers. I was extremely ambitious and had taken time to do plenty of research on who were the real decision-makers when it came to choosing school prefects and ultimately the head of school. By being friendly to teachers and even the subordinate staff, I had learnt a lot that would prove to be very helpful later.
Anybody who understood the school would tell you that it was the headmaster who made the final decision on who to appoint a school prefect. BUT the headmaster did NOT know all the students and I discovered that he relied heavily on the house masters some of whom were particularly powerful when it came to these kinds of decisions. I had earlier been told that the current school prefects always had a big say. I later discovered this to be false and an incident that I will describe later in these memoirs is my conclusive evidence to prove this.
Some of the house masters had been involved in this exercise and long tradition of the school for decades but all borrowed heavily from precedent.
I will be frank. I was more than a little worried. The acting headmaster, Monk happened to be the only teacher at Lenana who had ever caned me. This had happened after I got into a fight with somebody on Fosdicks (described in a much earlier instalment of these memoirs). I had always been sure that he would never consider me a serious candidate for school prefect after that encounter.
Also extremely powerful amongst the house masters was Dickie Ralphs (house master of Mitchell for many years). We had never really hit it off with Ralphs and for no particular reason that I ever discovered. I just sensed that he didn’t like me much.
And so as we came back for third term, I started to prepare myself for the great disappointment that was a real possibility of NOT being included in the “Big four” as we used to refer to it.
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