By @Ominamai
As the game of rugby grows, so does the number of fans thronging the pitches to catch the action. Rugby has become the weekend plot and thus the rush to make every rugby game an event.
As Odd Shaped Balls Kenya celebrates its 2nd birthday, I do what I’ve yearned to do in a long while – write an article for the blog turned website.
First and foremost, I pay tribute to the Founder Peter Ndonga whose vision to amplify his voice led to the inception of a wonderful blog. Good thing he didn’t choose a vuvuzela or some of us would have burst our eardrums a long time ago!
Secondly I’d like to introduce FLIPSIDE, a new column that will run in Odd Shaped Balls Kenya that will look at the other side of rugby i.e. the non-rugby events that happen in rugby while touching a little bit on the players’ lives outside of rugby! How often will it run? Well, that’s for us to know and for you to keep reading to find out! Legoo!
2013 REVIEW
The pin drop silence was short lived, quickly overcome by the ogling sounds of the many females that thronged the unveiling of Kiko Romeo’s Ann McCreath’s new line. Akin to any fashion events, most of the crowd was made up of females. I was as nervous as I was when I first approached some of the Kenya Sevens boys to walk the runway for the event tonight. The response was mixed but eventually some of them agreed to come despite being their 1st time.
Here are some of the pics from that night. They say a picture is worth more than a 1000 words!
Some of the Kenya Sevens players joined the band wagon of endorsements in 2013 making them among the highest paid athletes in Kenya. Collins Injera, Andrew Amonde and Dennis Ombachi the most notable.
The 10th Annual Sports Personality of the Year Awards SOYA was held on 6th December at The Ivory Burning site at the Nairobi National Park. Similar to previous years, rugby featured in a big way much to the envy of other team sports.
Kenya Sevens has grown over the past years to become Kenya Rugby’s biggest Brand. Their success was celebrated this night. They won the Sports Team of the Year Award. Arguably 2013’s most memorable rugby moment, the sudden death try by Oscar Ouma at the Semi-final match of Kenya vs New Zealand at the Wellington 7s was replayed over and over during the entire period of the award ceremonies.
Besides videos highlighting the growth and success of Kenya Rugby, having an ex-rugby player as a co-host crowned it all. Larry Asego charmed his way into the hearts of the many sports lovers that attended the Awards Ceremony.
Now that we are all on the same page, see you on the next issue. Happy New Year!
