101 YEARS OF RUGBY IN KENYA [PART TWO]

In my walking through the history of Kenyan rugby I will focus on the various cups that we use to find the best in our clubs.

THE KENYA CUP:
This is the premier rugby union competiton in Kenya, which is organised annually by the body in charge of running the sport in the country,Kenya Rugby Union [KRU].The cup is contested by eight teams, with all the teams based in Nairobi except Nakuru RFC which is situated in Nakuru town. The teams are ; Nondescript RFC,Impala RFC,Kenya Harlequins RFC,Mwamba RFC,Mean Machine RFC,Kenya Commercial Bank[KCB]RFC,Strathmore University RFC and Nakuru RFC.
The cup was introduced in 1970 and Impala RFC were crowned the first champions.The current holders Kenya Harlequins RFC are the club that has won the most number of titles.

THE ERIC SHIRLEY SHIELD:
This is the second tier in the domestic rugby union league in Kenya and is related to the Kenya Cup and was introduced in 1970.The ESS was split into two pools of eight teams each in 2010,with pool A consisting of mainly teams from Nairobi, while pool B consisted of teams from Western Kenya.This move was an effort by the KRU to promote the game in Western Kenya.The current holders are Homeboyz RFC.
A major upset happened in 1982 when Lenana School won the ESS.

THE BAMBURI SUPER SERIES:
It is an East African rugby union competition with eight teams from the region;five[Rhinos,Cheetahs,Lions,Sharks and Buffaloes] from Kenya,two from Uganda[Ruwenzori and Victoria] and one from Tanzania[Twigas].
The Rhinos franchise has the most titles for the BSS and were there winners of the first tournament in 2003 .They are the current holders and the only franchise to have retained a title[2009 & 2010]
The series started in 2003 and Unga Limited was the title sponsors, in 2004 UAP insurance were the title sponsors. It was not until the 3rd year[2005] that Bamburi Cement became the title sponsors.
The series has never been won by a team from outside Kenya. In 2010 the series was expanded from its traditional homes of RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi[Kenya],Friedkin Recreational centre in Arusha[Tanzania] and Kyadondo Grounds in Kampala[Uganda] to also include Nakuru Town and Mumias Town both in Kenya.

ENTERPRISE CUP:
This is an annual rugby union competition in East Africa, though it frequently appears like an all Kenyan affair due to financial constraints for the teams in Uganda and Tanzania that makes it hard for them to travel to there matches in the different countries.
The original cup was donated by sailors from the HMS Enterprise who toured East Africa in 1928 and was at first politely turned down by the RFUK but accepted later in the year when it was sent to them by the sailors.
In 1929 the Rugby Football Union Of Kenya[RFUK] decided to use the pre-existing Rugby Gymkhana[Rugby Weekend] where once a year the clubs used meet from all over Kenya to play some matches and enjoy peripheral social activities.The event was staged at Parklands Sports Club[the then home of Nondescript RFC], Nairobi due to its location.The proposed competition for 1929 failed to take place, so the next year the [RFUK] agreed to subsidise the teams travel costs.
The Enterprise Cup was first contested and awarded to Nairobi district in 1930,which was coincedentally the year the HMS Enterprise made her second and final visit to Kenya , the Cup was an inter-districts competition.The Enterprise Cup has been played each year except in 1940-1946 due to world war ll and in 1987 when the RFUEA Grounds was used in the All African Games.
The modern competition between clubs started in 1973.
The current holders are Kenya Harlequins.
The club with the most titles is NONDESCRIPT RFC.

This is the history of the club competitions in Kenya.We will focus on the individual club histories next blog.