South Coast Pirates transforming the rugby scene in Kwale
South Coast Pirates RFC players during training in Kwale County.
What you need to know:
- Another 50 kids from the immediate community are also involved with the academy’s talent development programme. More work needs to be done to actualise some of the targets the club had set out.
- The club is currently supported by Base Titanium Limited and Hemingways. Mr. Mwinyihaji also urged all relevant authorities and more well wishers to come on board to help support the academy, as they seek to form the first girls rugby team in Kwale County, as part of the club’s push for gender inclusivity in sports.
In 2013, plans were mooted for the formation of the first rugby team in Kwale County. The late George Barbour who played for the Kenya national rugby team in the 1970s, put in motion a plan to create a rugby team made up mainly of youth from Kwale County, and South Coast Pirates RFC was born.
A decade later, the South Coast Pirates have grown in leaps and bounds to become one of the best rugby outfits in the Coast region, a region that traditionally has not always been known for its rugby prowess.
The team now plies its trade in the second-tier Kenya Rugby Union Championship under coach Kevin Amiani, and has in the last two seasons missed qualification for the Kenya Cup by the narrowest of margins. The team has lost out on promotion to the top league twice at the playoffs.
The climb from the bottom of Kenya Rugby Union’s league pyramid, to knocking at the door of the Kenya’s premier 15’s rugby league competition, would not have been able without the existence of the South Coast Pirates Academy.
Exemplary talent
The academy’s exemplary talent development programme works with local schools in the region to supply South Coast Pirates’ first team with players.
Over the years, there have been many success stories of school boys who had never played rugby before, going on to represent the Pirates’ first team, and even playing for the national rugby team at different age levels.
Charles Tendwa, one of the academy’s best products, went on to play for the Kenya Morans and only recently, John Asega was selected to represent the Kenya Under-20 team in Barthes Cup earlier this year.
Mwinyihaji Mohammed Ali, who is in charge of talent development at the club, proudly speaks of the strides the club has made, and of the responsibility entrusted to him to coach and guide all the kids involved with the club’s academy.
“The South Coast Pirates Academy programme means everything to me because it is through the same talent development programme that I got the chance to play rugby. I take it as a blessing to now be able to coach and mentor others,” he said.
For him, rugby as a sport is a powerful tool that can be used to mould kids to become outstanding members of society.
“Rugby is a very good sport for kids, as through the rugby core values of integrity, solidarity, discipline, respect and passion, kids develop into not only good athletes, but also very valuable people in the community,” he continued.
At the moment, the academy works with six local secondary schools and a number of primary schools. Over 200 boys and 100 girls from these local schools are beneficiaries of the club’s talent development program.
Another 50 kids from the immediate community are also involved with the academy’s talent development programme. More work needs to be done to actualise some of the targets the club had set out.
The club is currently supported by Base Titanium Limited and Hemingways. Mr. Mwinyihaji also urged all relevant authorities and more well wishers to come on board to help support the academy, as they seek to form the first girls rugby team in Kwale County, as part of the club’s push for gender inclusivity in sports.
