1982 side, What I remember Part 4

My thanks and deep appreciation to Kiddo and Okello for helping to fill in the gaps where memory has faded about the residential training prior to the 1982 season.

But there is something that happened during the residential training that I can never forget. It happened towards the end. I suddenly lost my confidence.

I guess it happens to a lot of players playing any game. In soccer folks say the player is off form. In my case I just couldn't tackle any more. How do you play fullback if you can’t bring down the opposition? In one embarrassing incident I even used my feet to trip somebody. I started feeling that maybe I wasn't going to make it playing my favourite position for Mean Maroon after all. I am certain that if I had had a strong challenger for the position that would have been it. Barely two years later during a trial for the Kenya team that toured Zimbabwe, I was playing for the Possibles versus the Probables when the very dependable Mwamba RFC full back then whom I greatly admired lost his form right in the middle of the trials. I was a strong challenger and that was it, I was switched to the Probables and ended up on the team to win my first and only cap for Kenya. Naturally his fellow players and colleagues who knew him well felt that the selectors were rather harsh and should have stuck with the more experienced full back.

Back to 1982. Mercifully for me I stayed on the team. I guess the captain had a lot of confidence in me after all the years of playing together in house matches. And even more fortunate I exploded back into top form as the season started.

Meanwhile the rest of the team was clicking into shape like some well oiled machine. While other schools were coming in to start rugby training this side had been together since 1981 and now we had just completed a 2 week residential training.

One of the first schools to be on the receiving end was Patch. In the previous year they had seen a struggling Mean Maroon side. They were more than a little shocked at what they suddenly faced. Indeed that year matches were less serious than training sessions except for when we met RVA and also during the two 7s tournaments for schools in those days.

Maroon fans were delighted at what they now saw after the disappointments of 1981. In particular they were delighted at the brand new winger we had from Lugard house called Andy Kimwele. Now in 1981 we also had a guy from Kinyanjui called Opondo. He hardly got enough quality ball to work with but in the few times that he did, he would bring the crowd to its’ feet with his numerous evasive side-steps. He had been in sixth form and so had left.

At his peak Andy was like no other winger I had seen thus far. He had admirable pace but the reason why he was so difficult to stop was because he had the ability to maintain and even accelerate his speed a split second after a side-step.

One move in particular during that Patch game sticks in my mind. And it was all captured on video by Dave Anderson.

The ball rapidly went down the line and I joined for the overlap only to find myself almost crowded out by the Patch pack, looking back am not sure how that happened because those who understand the game will know why they shouldn’t have been where they were. I danced around and prepared to do an up and under but heard Kimwele calling for the ball on my outside and he was breaking all known speed limits. I fed the ball to him just as I went down from a tackle. What Andy did next had me and am sure many others as an awed audience. He danced his way right through the scrum and got clean over the try line. Sadly he dropped the ball just before he could put it down. Had I been the ref I would have given him the 4 points anyway just for the entertainment (kidding). The fans went crazy with delight and you would have thought it was a try. I could understand their joy watching what must have appeared such fluid co-ordinated play capped by some of the craziest dancing ever seen on Sterlings for a long time right through an entire scrum. He was quickly forgiven for not scoring the try.

Later at Andersons’ house we watched clips of the game and although everybody scolded Kimwele for dropping the ball while making all kinds of jokes like the one about him dropping it because he too could not believe he had side-stepped right through a whole scrum, we all greatly admired this brand new winger who had exploded onto the scene and were sure glad that he was on our side and not playing for RVA or something like that. Anderson also made a comment about my powerful running caught on video as he made numerous other comments about the abilities of others in this great new side. This was said alongside the adjustments and mistakes he pointed out that had to be corrected before we met RVA.

The 1982 Mean Maroon squad had arrived. Terror would spread across all school sides who would mostly lose all appetite for rugby when they knew they had to face Lenana. But I don’t think RVA had been quite prepared for what they saw that season in chilly windy Kijabe.

The 82 side what I remember Part 3

As 1981 drew to a close I had some serious worries of my own. I wasn't sure that I had done enough to win a 5th form place back in Changes. We had heard many stories about the emotions that went with the singing of the last hymn; “Lord dismiss us with thy blessings”. More so the part that addressed “those returning.”

For me it was a strange feeling. This place that I had hated with all my guts swearing to do my fifth form elsewhere in “a more civilized, less violent school” just two short years earlier was now the place that I wanted to come back to at all costs. My biggest nightmare now was failing to come back. The furthest thought on my mind at the time was rugby.

The school holidays passed swiftly. One day we were sitting around doing a lot of nothing with Chris Gatumbi (RIP) my Kirk house-mate, who was now a close neighbor (he lived in Valley Arcade and we lived close somewhere along Othaya Road) when we got word that the results were out. He had a small motorbike and we rushed to Lenana and the crash hall. To be honest I had no idea what to expect. Guilt from all the hours “wasted” on rugby flooded me.

But we rode back home in Gatumbi’s motorbike with joy. We were both “returning.” Despite the rugby I had managed a first division of 21 points. The sciences as expected were a total zulu war of “rungus” for me (how we described failure in those days). But mathematics and the arts carried me through and my best six were more than good enough for a division one. I did not know it at the time but these O-level results would later play a significant role in deciding my fate at “changes.”

It was like Anderson was waiting for us and shortly after we got back to school he informed us all that our rugby season would be starting early with residential training during the April school holidays. We would come from the holidays early to train.

Actually I now saw a lot of Anderson every day even though it was not yet rugby season, because he started teaching me something other than rugby for the first time since he arrived in '81, as my economics teacher.

He even used his influence to get a few guys back who had not quite made it. They triumphantly marched back with the second selection and lo behold the complete Moss Moss squad was once again assembled at Lenana this time as the official Mean maroon squad.

The first controversy involved the elections of officials. Captain, Vice captain and secretary. Traditionally the secretary would be the rugby captain the following year. I was tipped for the post by some while others wanted Big Jim Ayoki (R.I.P). Some Kirk sixth formers urged me on because they wanted a total domination of the team by our house since it was almost certain that Nesbitt Wesonga (also from Kirk) would be captain. Just before the elections Tony Maleche and Aloise Obiero approached me and asked me to step down for the sake of unity. The way they approached me it seemed that they were sure that I was NOT going to oblige easily and so they promised to help me get elected Soccer captain with ease the following term.

The whole incident was a shock to me because until that moment I had not yet realized that fifth form in those days was always bound to be a “politically charged” year with plenty at stake.

Still I accepted the deal quickly without a second thought mainly because I already had a lot on my plate with the school play and other activities. In my mind I thought it would be great to play my rugby unhindered by other responsibilities. In retrospect I was right. Besides Big Jim made a great secretary and later captain and in all honesty did better than I would ever have done. Especially because of the numerous other responsibilities I was going to start carrying shortly some which would weight down on me rather heavily.

Leadership is everything and the 82 side would have easily been short-circuited by bad leadership but looking back now I see how fate was very kind to us. Wesonga was an inspirational skipper and knew how to get the best out of every player. I had seen him do this many times in Kirk house teams. Vice captain and pack leader Spike Ogot ended up being another inspired choice. Both would be severely tested at trying times mostly during clashes with RVA and would be called upon to rally the troops to snatch victory from the very jaws of defeat. I was taken aback by Spike’s ability to get people psyched up with a mere pep talk. As the year progressed his leadership abilities were clearly visible as he headed Tom Mboya house in what was to be a remarkable year for the house.

Looking back I should have known that there was no way we were going to go wrong with such great leadership.

The 1982 side: What I remember part 2

I don’t remember hearing Moss Moss cause any controversy in the school in 1981 but it should have. It was clear where Dave Andersons’ heart was. We had a brighter newer kit (although it couldn't be maroon because we were NOT the official school side). If we were not having a game somewhere we would be watching rugby videos of the 5 Nations internationals at the music hall or even Andy guy’s house (if my memory serves me right).

The big worry for us fourth formers on the side were the rapidly approaching national exams. Rugby seasons also happened to be the season for the mock exams which usually ended up making a mockery of many. I don’t know what the other guys did but I woke up by 4 am to get in some extra work towards my exams. It must have been much easier because we were so physically fit and besides it was a small price to pay for rugby.

To be honest few of us saw this as a build up to 1982. We were just having fun playing, talking and living the game we all loved so much.

Why were there so many Kirk guys in Moss Moss and ultimately in the 1982 side? I have seen the question asked again and again in many threads and here is my controversial personal opinion which I am sure many may not agree with. I think it had something to do with 1977 when there was a terrifying head of house in Kirk and a reign of terror that has remained legend for years. Surviving that year in Kirk as a first former was quite something from the stories I heard then and in fact the real horror stories I have read in some threads right here in Facebook. Indeed those stories made going thru Lanet for 6 months military boot camp and training look like a walk in the park in comparison. I kid you not. That tradition was carried on for many years after 1977 albeit in a lesser degree but Kirk was always a feared house, if you know what I mean.

Rugby has to do with being tough and fearless, your size is not very relevant. Being tough means you can take a knock or two that others would cringe even thinking about. It means that you do not hesitate going for a loose ball even if the other guy is much bigger and more menacing than you are. Without this basic trait even the best technical advise and skill will be useless on the pitch. I saw this clearly in the career of one of the Mean Maroon and Kenyan rugby all-time greats fly half Dave Madara. In ’79 I feared for him when Lenana faced the burly Armed Forces. I told myself that there was no way he would take the hard knocks. I was wrong I watched Madara play for many years after that and being a fly half there would always be those towering wing forwards and back row guys out to hurt this fly half who was doing them so much damage. After all it is a man’s game. He would take the knocks and get up like nothing happened. Only once did he not get up and that was a special case. It was in a Kenya team game in Bulawayo against the top rugby province (Matebeland??) in Zimbabwe. Two hefty, heavily built guys who would make Arnold Schwarzenegger look small sandwiched him between themselves with force. Madara was carried off in a stretcher, unconscious. But a few weeks later he was back on the rugby pitch.

Now the guys who were a year ahead of me were some of the toughest guys I have seen on a rugby pitch and I believe that is why they made up most of the team and played with distinction too. Let’s hear what you guys have to say about that, am keeping an open mind on this.

There are many ways of getting this toughness which may not have been clear at the time but there is a lot you can see looking back at stuff that happened many years ago. My personal story was that I used the rugby pitch to get “revenge” against bullies in the house. One guy in particular (who also played full back) had a tendency of using me as his personal punching bag. Days after I learnt the basics of rugby we were in a house practice and he came charging. I remembered that we had been told that you simply take the man low and hard and no matter how big he was he would come down. I did just that and he landed so heavily that he pointed at me threateningly; “you!” People laughed and he never came charging carelessly at me again. His threats and those of other less skilled bullies did not stop me. Many of them would hurriedly pass the ball when they saw me. I have to buy this guy a crate of beer at the very least next time I meet him because I would never have developed my reputation for crash tackles without his “help.”

Every member of the 1982 side has his own personal story of how they developed their toughness and I can assure you that each and everybody on that side was much tougher than they look on that photo and this had to be the basis and foundation of such a great side. Indeed all rugby players from Lenana over the decades (and I have had the pleasure of meeting many who were there even before my time) were extremely tough guys and ultimately they have always played their rugby differently and done their things differently. More so when you compare them to another less tough boy’s school that we all know pretty well. My two cents!

The '82 side; what I remember Part 1

The story of 1982 rugby starts in 1981. I was in fourth form and Lenana was having a disastrous rugby season. We even lost to Saints at home, tena on Sterlings (extremely painful).

Alan Bukusi was a great captain but everything just went terribly wrong for his side. The maroon kit by that time was in tatters and seemed to portray the state of our rugby game then. I remember Dave Anderson (the then brand new rugby master) brought in a new school rugby kit but when it arrived everybody was disappointed. It was in Mumia house colors and he was told in no uncertain terms that Lenana rugby kit can ONLY be one color, Maroon. And so the first XV continued to wear their tattered kit and the new kit was passed on to a side that Anderson was busy building on the side for 82. It was christened “Moss Moss” (which I am told is Dholuo for slow slow) and was by invitation only. It consisted of fourth and fifth formers and was really the ’82 side in waiting.

Anderson organized several matches but the most memorable has to be the one we played at Parklands against a very strong Nondies II side. I knew the Nondies players very well at the time because during my 1st term school holidays that very year my parents had moved to the Parklands area and had I decided to train with Nondies during the April holidays even playing in a few games for them. The only problem is that I came face to face with raw racism in one or two of the Nondies players which was difficult to stomach but that is probably a story for another day. My point is that I can authoritatively state here that there were a few regular Nondies first team players on that side we beat.

I have played in many sides and looking back now I believe that it was that game at Parklands in 1981 where the ’82 side “clicked”. At one point of the game, Nondies using their superior pack play were ahead with the difference being a two figure score. But our scrum came back fighting ferociously as the lions tired. Notables here were Spike Ogot, George Mwangi, George Maiko, Dablo etc.

We simply started winning more quality balls from the scrum and when our backs got running Nondies with their superior weight and experience had no answer. The spirit and feeling of invincibility took hold of the team then.

Meanwhile some of us continued playing for the disastrous 1981 side. I got a chance to play in several different positions including 2nd centre and even Wing back. But I rarely got a chance to play full back. That position was taken by one George Steak Ondiek. Ondiek was in fifth form and unknown to many of us was about to leave for the States. That year guys used to watch the 1st XV games because of him. Despite how badly we were doing he would catch the ball in his own 25 yard area and then proceed to dance and hand off opponents until the other 25 (no kidding). It was a joy to watch and we all learnt a lot from steak. It was a fascinating situation where Lenana seemed to thrive that year exclusively on creating opportunities for tries and points from balls unwittingly kicked into the hands of our full back.

Well, I never got a chance until Steak got injured and we were supposed to play RVA at home. I was a bundle of nerves. How do you step into Steak’s shoes, tena at home? I remember Tony Maleche who was at the time a regular on the blind wing for that side encouraging me in the chem. Labs as most of the rest of the class was asleep (the norm in the labs in those days). It was a mid-week game. He told me that I would be fine.

But the really big encouragement for me was after that game (which we lost to RVA) in the usual post-mortem sessions at the lecture hall that Anderson insisted on in 1981 where Steak said that I had done okay but advised me to make better use of the up and unders.

Something else happened during our trips to games. We bonded as a team. I must admit that up to that point I had little respect for what the scrum did in a game. But thanks to Maiko, Mwangi George and Ogot’s outspoken nature during discussions, I started understanding how a game of rugby is always won or lost in the pack, no matter how good your backs are. I think most of the other backs also started appreciating the pack so much so that we never wanted to waste a single quality ball won by the pack. At the time we of course did not know that we were members of a side that would be remembered many decades later, even overshadowing achievements of earlier Lenana sides.

Who was greater 1982 rugby champs or 1977 Eric Shirley winners?

I have to admit that I have personally been taken aback by the massive interest in that fabulous 1982 side that I have seen here in this popular social media platform. Some have even began to compare the ‘82 side to the 1977 Eric Shirley winning side. 

In my view there is no comparison, the 1977 side achieved the impossible and are in a class of their own (and it looks like forever so). I was NOT even in Lenana yet when they lifted that club trophy that August sato in ’77, but I am a permanent student of history albeit one who is willing to be corrected or proved wrong. And I am also saying this having played in a match that featured the full ’82 side (christened Moss Moss) in ‘81 where we beat a strong Nondies II side at Parklands before some very shocked Mzungus.

Memories are fading as the years are slipping by fast and so I have came up with my usually crazy ideas and intend to tell the 1982 story. Hopefully somebody else will tell the 1977 story (I would love to read it).

Starting in my next post, I will attempt to put down what I can remember about magic maroon 1982 before it fades kabisa.