Arriving in Los Angeles in late February to a cloudy dark sky was a very confusing experience for me.I had made an effort of packing my shorts and sleeveless t-shirts knowing that California will be burning up!! Mother Nature decided to surprise me instead and her I was fishing out my jacket and thermal wear that had been packed for Vancouver.The Kenyans though are never deterred by the weather and both the young and old ,dressed in their Showinmylove attires were ready for an amazing weekend of rugby.
The Kenya team as usual were in buoyant mood and took time to have launch and enjoy the CampKonye gymnasium, thanks to our amazing host Konye .They were relaxed and there was a sense of focus and determination in every player. The food was good, the atmosphere was better and the company was best .Smiles and laughter filled the housed and gym with thoughtful conversations taking place about the weekend games.
RememberI stated that mother nature had a surprise in place!!! The tournament was underway on Saturday with the boys representing us in the best and proudest way expected.On this day , LA was colder than London which is unheard of.Then the unexpected happened, 10 games into the games the lightning struck and the heavens opened.This was an new experience to the event organiser and for the safety of the players and fans the games had to be delayed.This happened twice on the Saturday with each stop lasting over an hour at a time.
On this day the fans spent more time downing food and drinks rather than watching rugby.It has been said that the darkest our is before dawn and no one would have expected the Sunday to make up for both the weather and rugby .The sun was out and we were in good spirits with the rays of th sun kissing our skin as early as 9 am.How ironical it is that we were in shorts on the Sunday after freezing on Saturday and experiencing weather warnings.
The flags were flying once more and the spirit of rugby 7s was alive. The music and dancing reflected the diverse respectfully nature of rugby fans from different corners of the world coming to experience good quality performance from their nations.
It is said that when it rains, it pours and while this may describe the Saturday we had all that was pouring on Sunday was loads of sunshine, good quality international rugby plus a collaborative spirit of togetherness that reflects the wonderful game called rugby.Next stop ..............., Vancover !!!!!!!