“Hello, Charo!” Came the familiar voice, with a hover of suppressed laughter, on the other end of the call.
“Oh, hello! What a pleasant surprise,” and it sure was as it dawned on me that this was a local call.
“Can you be in Mombasa by Wednesday?”
“Yes, I can.”
“Good,” and he hung up.
Well, I hadn’t returned to Mombasa after leaving eighteen months before with nothing but a bag of clothes, a punctured ID, and demons that wouldn’t let me sleep through the night.
A decade in the coastal city had left a lasting scar on me. But having moved to Nairobi and dipped into the city’s bustle, the ignominy of my past no longer stung as much, and I couldn’t wait to wake up to the clamor of crows, breathe the salty air, and feel the sand between my toes as I waded into the deep.
Besides, the anticipation around the Driftwood 7s was palpable, promising to be the best start of the circuit yet, a weekend of adrenaline-packed rugby games and overnight parties. And it sure was.
“It stems from a piece of driftwood,” Chairman Lai had told me, during our sit-down in the fringes of last-minute polish before the rivals in the Kenyan rugby drifted in, to contest for the coveted title, which had been at the heart of national rugby supremacy for the past three and a half decades.
Ushered by a clear dawn, as I smoked a blunt on the balcony of my 15th floor Airbnb staring into the open sea and blowing smoke into the horizon the color of a bruise, day one was punctuated with major upsets and kindling of rivalries as giants rose in stout muscles and crumbled under the hit of tackles, others just too quick to catch.
Well, the biggest upset of the first day was the akin to destruction defeat suffered by MSC Rugby at the hands of KCB Rugby, who beat them 43-0 in their home. A similar win by KCB over Nondescript at 45-0 in the third round put them well ahead as the favorites to win the wooden trophy.
As the day came to an end, the losers licked their wounds to the Tusker Na Rugby after party lineup of DJs, led by Kaytrixx, soaking in the revelry and putting their best foot forward in dance till dawn, even as winners retired, awaiting to battle it out the following day.
Milling between stands in the village, sipping cans of beer, and tearing through juicy drumsticks, the semifinals between Kabras Sugar vs KCB Rugby promised more action from the fans' sentiments as compared to the Strathmore Leos vs Nakuru RFC.
KCB beat Kabras 10-5 to meet Leos in the finals, which they carried at a slim win of 15-14. Carrying the trophy up high as they celebrated their win, everybody knew that this was a start to a gritty series.
As if by grace, the two would find themselves again in a week, battling for supremacy as the rain poured during the finals at the two-day Prinsloo 7s in Nakuru. The Leos exerted their revenge, beating KCB 26-7 and retaining their Prinsloo title.
Mwamba RFC were the Prinsloo 7s women’s champions, having beaten Quins ladies in the finals.
As the series proceeds, their promises to be more action, drama, and upsets as the kings and queens battle out for the best in grit.
You can get your tickets for the Dala 7s here.
