Taking You Back - Quinzone 7th January 2005

A happy new year 2005 to all you Quins out there in the Diaspora.

 

Trust you had an equally joyous and wonderful Christmas.

 

2004. The sooner we leave it behind the better.

We begun the year the on top of the mountain and ended it with 2 trophies in the cabinet (more than three quarters of the other clubs around) these being the Black Rock Trophy and the Driftwood 7's. One must say that no other Sevens team showed class, polish and finesse the way the Quins team that won the Driftwood did. A superlative performance that would have been the envy of many top international sevens sides was seen that weekend they won. Hats off to them.

 

A successful tour to Zimbabwe (a first ever) got the club off to a roaring start early in the year. Some high quality games and excellent performances by some of the new blood were positive factors that emanated from that tour.

 

Our season was one of so near yet so far. The team being so young having seen the retirements/departures of 15 players from the previous years all conquering squad fought tooth and nail in all the competitions they took part this year. Semi Finals and Finals were where we camped but the top prize just seemed to slip through our fingers. But nevertheless the boys deserve a big pat on their backs.

 

Our club coach Tom Webster Odundo added more feathers to his cap by being named the Kenya National 15's coach. (Why Quins?) We wish him all the best.

 

The singles club lost more members and curiously all from the Kondele Axis by the Lake Victoria. These were Tom Webster Ochieng Odundo, Gabriel John Ohanya Ouko and Edward Jones Kinyany Oloo. The Mt. Kenya Mafia numbers suffered a serious blow here as the "Wanjikus" were carted off to Dala, Pand Pieri, Kisumu Royale and Octopussy. Roger Akena, Kiragu Ngunya and Pedro Anampiu still carrying the singles flag. Paul Odera was last seen proposing to one F Brown?

 

Joe "Zangi"  Onsando made a welcome return back to Kenya after a two year stint in Zimbabwe. Other returnees were Charley Angawa from Yugoslavia and Oburru Charger from Cuba. Welcome back guys.

 

Gordon Argo made a couple of his traditional stopovers in Nairobi and boy o boy were those weekends great.

 

Allan Makaka one of Quins star players manage to land a successful rugby playing professional contract. We wish him all the best in the UK where he is based. (How much did we sell him for?).

 

Nicol Kabugua (way out in Perth, Australia) finally became a father of a very beautiful baby girl. Congrats boy. A long time coming indeed. Your visit here last March was appreciated. Gather that's when the seed was planted.

 

So what's in store for 2005?

 

Well the Quins dinner long overdue (again) and eagerly awaited will be on the cards.

 

The return of Quins as the dominant rugby team in Kenya is a must for this season. Lets be the TSUNAMI of Kenya Rugby

 

A more family friendly social club will definitely be in place. A fun day will be scheduled sometime later in the year. Meanwhile Barbeques will be more common and food in place.

 

The first Quiz Nite (hopefully) will be on Thursday 28th January 2005. Details will follow. But in the meantime club night is as always on THURSDAY.

 

Membership categories will reappear so be on the look out and be a bonafide Quins member (Strong, Sure and Superior categories). The fairer sex (Ladies) will be eligible for Strong as well and the kids, teens, tiny tots will be in the Sure Category. More details to follow.

 

The DSTV at the club needs a donor/sponsor who will keep it going for the year. Its important as most of the younger players prefer watching top class rugby at Quins and this will keep them here instead of them going elsewhere. Year subscription for DSTV is Ksh 72,000.

 

The club needs your presence for only seven important days this year. So please all and bring the lot be there on MONDAY< TUESDAY< WEDNESDAY < THURSDAY< FRIDAY< SATURDAY<SUNDAY.

 

Please forward ideas on monthly rewards for young players, the team and things like that (other ideas as long as within the legal limits welcome as well. This is one club that's full of lawyers). Its going to be one long season and we need to keep our boys happy all through and not risk them getting bored.

 

Anyone with suggestions on how we can harness Solar Energy to reduce some of our costs please speak out LOUDLY.

 

And among others finally we should see the start of our Ladies rugby side the Quins Queens (Double Q). A coach will be required so forward your applications ASAP and training days will be as Normal to start with. (Ken Thimba are you there?)

 

Otherwise lets have an organised and structured year. As stated earlier our aim is to be the leading 21st Century club this side of the Equator and above the Limpopo river. Attached to this QUINZONE is a message from the Chairman as well as the fixtures for 2005 so that your calendar is well organised for the year. And do forget to link into WWW.QUINS.CO.KE for useful reading and regular updates and articles.

 

Lets bring in all the Quins from far and wide back into the fold. Gather them from every hole and bring them back to the club (or at least the QUINZONE). Our enemies are sharpening their knives. We need to sharpen our claws and be ready for them. AND ENEMIES WE HAVE BIG ONES.

 

Have a good year people and all the best in 2005 to the greatest rugby club on earth. KENYA HARLEQUIN FC

 

ONCE A QUIN ALWAYS A QUIN

TO BE A QUIN IS A WAY OF LIFE

A QUIN NEVER GETS DRUNK, JUST GETS TIRED

 

Cheers People

Herbert Mwachiro... (Bomas Katiba Watch)

 

 

PS: See below other contributors for year 2005 so far.

 

Ken Mulli

 

Guys,

The following have pledged to contribute some money to enable us reach our target of Ksh. 100,000.00, which is the balance for the scrum machine;

Charles Katee Paul Nyamodi, Chris Ochieng, Peter Ocholla, Jesse Onsando, Gordon Anampiu, Phillip Ochieng, Pater Anampiu, Ken Thimba, Kiragu, Jeff Anampiu, George Kuria, E, Siganga, Andrew Waititu , Joe Onsando and Ken Muli.

The pledges we have are far from the target so we are still appealing to more members and supporters to come forward and donate something.

Cheers and see you on Thursday at the club.

 

 

This is what James Juma AB (Seychellois tourist) added..........

 

If they can sing the 'Zulu Warrior' song and strip down to their smalls at the bar, then we can have a ladies team

 

This is what Gordon Anampiu (Aspiring Formula 1 driver) had to say.......

 

LEONARD! STOCK UP THE FRIDGE. It looks like there will be hundreds of Quins

at the bar tonight!

 

Regards

Gordon Anampiu

 

This is what Betty ( Captain Quins Queens) had to say..............

 

Happy New Year to all,

What happened to the suggestion of the Quins Ladies

side?

'wanna-be flyhalf'

 

This is what Paulo (captain 2003 and 2004) had to say...............

 

Great article,

I can see the excuses I have been giving myself for

not doing this and that for the club. The article has

really got me present to what makes quins such a great

club and I remember my first year at quins and meeting

uncle jesse, oburu and papa tim. They got me so drunk

on a Thursday night that my mother wanted to kick me

out of rugby. What was even more valuable for me were

the old war stories they told about visiting teams and

I would listen wide eyed with rapt attention as they

told the same story over and over and again and I

never got tired of listening to them. I look at myself

now and see that not going to the club and training

and being with the younger members has denied quins

the invaluable experience of what makes us such a

great club. I have also missed the value of learning

from the younger members.

What quins can count on me this year is to put in the

hard hours in training and to be active in the

development of the club both on and off the pitch, to

cement what is already an open secret which is we are

the premiere rugbly club in east and central africa.

Cheers guys,

Dede

Mambo Yote - 22nd January 2010

This is a January that has not lacked drama here in Kenya. So much has happened in the three weeks since we began this decade. Firstly we crossed the new year and the powers that be as is custom promised us Kenyans many many things. Then the action began with matatus going on a three day strike that paralysed Nairobi's crude transport system. Truth of the matter is we were happy that the bad habits exhibited by matatus were nowhere to bee seen so it was blisssfully a well mannered and cultured society. That myth was strenuously shattered when as a counter measure the ' Walking Nation' ignored the matatus and everybody who had a vehicle, car and/or four wheel contraption suddenly brought them out as a countermeasure to the strike. Though the Christmas season had finished the petrol money had not???  And there began our crisis. We couldn't move at all. Nairobi had the mother of all traffic jams and it dawned on us that 90% of all cars in Kenya are actually in Nairobi. We spent hours on the road getting to our varius domiciles/residences only to start the journey back to work. There are too few roads in Nairobi and plenty cars. Even the police were shocked and had no clue how to control the traffic as it was just a gridlock of monstrous proportions. Thieves couldnt steal cars as they couldnt make clean getaways with them either. Thank heavens the matatu strike ended or they were too broke to continue and sanity and bad manners returned to our roads. We are really caught between a rock and a hard place here.

 

With one fiasco over we were reminded that the education sector in this country is one big circus as free primary education made some millionaires and suddenly once again we shockingly realised and learnt thaat not all who finish primary school will go to Form one. So where do the 400,000 Std 8 dropouts go? Do they simply vanish or do they start being socially and economically self-empowered? This is a huge number of idlers we are creating every year. Meanwhile primary school headteachers are being transfered and secondary head of schools are hawking Form 1 places. This is sad indeed as we are playing with the future of many a young Kenyan here. The Ministry of Planning decided not to release the 2009 Census results after they shockingly gathered that the population of North Eastern had increased by 140%. Surely those guys then never did a census count in Eastleigh and realised that the population of a certain neighbouring contry is decreasing by 140%.

 

Thankfully the African Cup of Nations began in the second week of January and kept the broke long suffering Kenyan of January busy. One thing former Harambeee Stars Coach Antoine Hey did us a favour is that he made sure we did not qualify otherwise we would have been seriously embarrased in Angola. We are still playing futta as those guys giants and minnows are playing 'serious soccer. Quickly we forgot about Arsenal, Chelsea, Man CityUnited, Liverpol and Spurs and dual citizenship took root as we became Ivorians, Nigerians, Ghanians, Cameroonians, Togoloese (briefly), Angolans, Zambians, Malawians and Beninese. Somehow no-one wanted to become Egyptian, Tuinisian or Algerian. I suspect it was more out of fear than anything else especially when Egypt are clinically ruthless in dispatching their opponents. Meanwhile Harambee Stars went to Yemen to play a friendly and came back with 3 goals as a free duty free gift though they managed to score one in a meaningless aimless friendly. The Africa Cup of Nations will last till people get their Januaary wages/payslips/salaries at the end of the month.

 

The Kenyan politician meanwhile is taking advantage of all those sideshows and preparing a new constitution and planning for a referendum while Kenyans are thoroughly broke and not interested as they have other serious worries on their minds. Lesson learnt here is when you want to achieve something without people noticing do it in January and you'll succeed. News in today is that both ODM and PNU have agreed on a purely Presidential system. Well done to them but only problem is that even if they agreed on a monarchy and declared Kenya a kingdom that will have a King and Queen plus a Royal Family, no-one would really have noticed till after April when they will have financially recovered and preparing for the 20110 World Cup. This would mean it would still go unnoticed until July when sanity will have returned.

 

On a more serious note our hearts bleed for the pleople of Haiti and we pray that the tragedy that befell them may be handled with the urgency and support that it deserves fromthe global focal point. The people of Haiti are in our prayers and so are the people of Kenya.

 

I will from time to time post articles that I have written years back just as way of ensuring they are shared by a wider audience and are not lost. Hope you will appreciate.

 

Cheers and stay well.

Round Up

A sad incident was to engulf the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations as gunmen attacked the bus carrying the Togo national team in the Angolan enclave of Cabinda. The attack which occured on Friday in the oil-rich enclave which has seen separatists in recent years wage an armed war against the Angolan government as indeed fatal as three people died and several were seriously injured. The Togolese players had to hide under the bus seats as their bus was under fire from the rebels. Watch Tawa condemns the attack on the inocent sportsmen and at the same time sends condolences to the families of the bereaved and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured players and officials. The trauma of the attack is not only felt by the Togo nation but by the rest of the African continent as well. Sadly the tournament will miss the presence of Emmanuel Adebayor and his Togolese teammates understandably through no fault of their own.

The western media did not waste time in engaiging in negativity as once again Africa was potrayed as the dark primitive war infested continent. There may have been a bit of naivety in the travel plans of the Togo football team but that did not warrant all the negative comments showered on them by the western media and selfish European football managers who (some of them) outrageiously called for the scrapping/cancelling of the Africa Cup of Nations 2010. If one looks at history no one recalls the 1972 Munich Olympic games being scrapped nor will the 2012 London Olympic games be cancelled despite the UK being hit by terror attacks not too long ago.

South Africa as the host of the 2010 Socccer World Cup suddenly find themselves in the unfavourable spotlight and one wonders how many security personnel will be accompanying the non-African teams to the 2010 Soccer bonanza. It will almost be the World Military Soccer Cup with private armies invading South Africa to protect their national soccer teams at all costs. Watch Tawa asks that teams to exercise restraint and let the hosts do their job with the security. I'm sure no-one wants to see the party spolit.

Soccerwise Angola fluffed a 4 goal winning margin to draw 4-4 with Mali in the tournament opener. Barcelona's Seydou Keita showed his class and later on was joined by Sevilla's Frederic Kanoute in dampening the hosts party. The home crowd were stunned but the neutrals could never have asked for a better game with 8 goals. Coach Stephen Keshi eventually managed a smile at the end of the game as his Angolan counterpart was left fuming and talking angrily to himself.

Malawi coach Kinnah Phiri could not have wished for a better start as his charges long written off in the tournament hit Algeria 3-0. Algeria who are 2010 South Africa bound were shell-shocked by the Flames who had Russel Mwafulirwa, Ivis Kafoteka and Davie Banda to thank for the goals. 26 years ago Algeria thumped Malawi 3-0 in the same competition and so what a reversal of roles it was this time.

Millionares (actually Billionaires by Kenyan standards) Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, Aruna Dindane, Bakary Kone, Kolo and Yaya Toure together Emmanuel Eboue could do little and failed to breakdown the resilient Burkina Faso defence with the scoreline remaining 0-0 at the end. Not the start the Ivorians wanted.

On the local rugby front Kenya Harlequin Wazee thumped the Kenya Harlequin Vijana 40-33 in an exciting game at the RFUEA grounds over the weekend. The game officially marked Quins entry into the 2010 season. Veterans Ham Onsando, Edward Kinyany, Peter Ochola and Thomas Odundo taught the youngsters a lesson or two in the lovely oval ball game of rugby. The next encounter is an eagerly awaited one and the many months we wait will definitely not be in vain. The party that followed was well attended and executed. Law breakers were absent but heart breakers were plenty.

The Kenya Sevens team are preparing for the next two rounds of the IRB Sevens in Wellington and Las Vegas. Watch Tawa wishes them well and encourages them to continue carrying the Kenya rugby flag high. I hope the two guys I met at Rafiki's on Saturday night made it back to the camp in good time before the coach woke up to find them missing.

The local rugby season kicks off on the 23rd of January with the Impala Floodlit and good luck to all the teams taking part.

News just in Manchester City 4 Blackburn 1. City leapfrog my team Tottenham and now sit in fourth place.(Not good not good). Carlos Tevez with hat-trick. The boy is in a rich vein of form.

Congratulations to Henry Emuye for being re-elected Chairman KCB Rugby. Congrats to Mathare United for their landmark Kshs 20 million annual soccer sponsorship received from KDN. And finally congratulations to all the Kenyan swimmers who have raked in 10medals so far at the ongoing African Swimming Confederation (CANA) Zone 3 and 4 competition in Nairobi.

Kenya Harlequin Rugby : Wazee vs Vijana

Happy New Year to all the Quins Family and Friends and the wider rugby fraternity.

I take this opportunity to wish you all a prosperous new year ahead in Sure, Strong and Superior style.

Continuing where we left off from last year we say

Once a Quin Always a Quin
To be a Quin is a Way of life

On behalf of the Technical Committee your all invited to a Wazee vs Vijana game this Saturday 9th january 2010. Fans are most welcome and players it is mandatory. Age aint nothing but a number.

Day Program:

We intend to start at

1.oopm with a Technical session

3.00pm Wazee vs Vijana game

4.30pm Debrief plus players meal

NB: Players old and new to carry passport photographs!

Night Program

Finishing the little money left for those who dont pay school fees and for the ones who pay we wait for the others to order a round and then we shout our orders too.

See you there.

Happy New Year 2010 : Orange Africa Cup of Nations

Happy New Year to all from Nairobi, Kenya and its another year full of soccer action. This year sees more focus on Africa especially with the 2010 Soccer World Cup taking place right here on the continent. But before that the Orange Africa Cup of Nations starts this month from the 10th to the 31st of January. Africa's finest footballers will be strutting their wares in Angola and sadly Kenya will be missing though not for lack of trying but more so from the cancer of soccer mismanagement that has plagued us for years gone by.

Didier Drogba, Kolo Toure, Samuel E'too and other top African professionals plying their trade in European leagues will be having their dress rehearsals for the World Cup in Angola. Passions will rise and tears will flow but the winner this year will be African Soccer which is gaining more prominence globally and ruffling top European managers who feel that the African Cup of Nations is wrongly placed in the international fixture calendar. Gladly for that FIFA are not listening for now.

The groups in Angola are:

GROUP A: ANGOLA, MALI, MALAWI, ALGERIA

GROUP B: COTE D'IVOIRE, BURKINA FASO, GHANA, TOGO

GROUP C: EGYPT, NIGERIA, MOZAMBIQUE, BENIN

GROUP D: CAMEROON, GABON, ZAMBIA, TUNISIA

Favourites may turn out to be Cote D'Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana and Cameroon. Dark horses will be Angola, Nigeria and Tunisia. Shock Pullers could be Zambia, Algeria and Togo.

That all promises exciting times ahead with the only regret being that East Africa will be sorely missing but not really being missed. This needs to change. Are the soccer administrators listening and do the wider stakeholders really care?

My money is on Cameroon so Indomitable Lions don't let me down.