The pandemic changed our way of living and had a clear impact on the rugby sevens schedule.The lockdown begun on March 2020 just after jetting back from San Franscisco who hosted the World Cup. What was to follow was unimaginable, NZ, Fiji and Samoa would not be taking part in the HSBC rugby sevens in Malaga. I hear you ask...Malaga!? Yes, the usual Hamilton and Sydney venues were no longer scheduled, due to movement restrictions imposed by Australia and New Zealand as they attempted to contain the spread of covid 19. In place of the two, Malaga and Seville had been picked to host the tournament that would normally have taken place Down Under.
The one thing that was standard and stood out was that Ze-Kenyans were ever so present in their usual high spirit. Malaga felt different, not because there was a pandemic but inside the stadium people looked uneasy and less engaged !!. Even the Kenyans by their high standards looked a bit subdued and perhaps trying to acclimatise .The pin dropped, a few hours into the tournament why it felt so weird watching rugby in Malaga ,it was a dry tournament as they call it in Spain, meaning there was no alcoholic beverages being sold at the stadium. Luckily for the patrons there was a basket ball hall across the stadium, that had a bar with pocket friendly beverages.
No sooner had we discovered this hot spot than the party was in full motion. Malaga had officially opened its gates to the Ze-Kenyans, Brits and South Africans. It didn't take long for the party to get into full gear with Ze-Kenyans leading the pack in song and dance....
Back in the stadium the smiles were begging to come out and the mood was what a rugby sevens experience is all about. The teams did their part on the pitch and South Africa were clinical in their execution.
The Malaga spirit drifted onto the streets after the games.The beauty and energy of rugby 7s experience was now in full flow as ZeKenyans took over the streets of Malaga in song, dance and movement.
Due to legal disclaimers some of the stories cannot be document for fear of financial compensation on the ZeKenyan fanbase. Having said that, Malaga had been good to us considering this was their 1st rugby 7s tournament.
Malaga, see you again.