Having standalone rugby teams is the way to go, but are we ready for short-term pain?

After years of being force-fed the idea of running separate national rugby sevens and 15s, albeit in thinner and thinner dilutions, the penny appears to have finally dropped this side of the year.

The local rugby fraternity that has for years on end been preoccupied with an unrequited desire will be happy not to have been tested to destruction. Literally and figuratively.

The fact that the controlled demeanour of the men's national outfits had a military precision to it is doubtless gratifying.

Recent productive runs in the Victoria Cup, Elgon Cup, Tunisia two-test series, and Safari Sevens offer a measure of the distance the country has travelled. And it is no mean feat.

Not even chastening defeats that the women 15s team suffered in the Elgon Cup and Tunisia two-test series have prompted fans to take a decidedly dimmer view of a time-honoured approach.

At least for now. It appears the Lady Cranes' stunning capture of the 2023 Safari Sevens’ main event title has imbued officials and fans alike with a sense of great pride and conviction. 

The Safari Sevens feat has, well, purchased goodwill amongst the fans so much so they can attempt a reconciliation with the hidings that Kenya and Tunisia unleashed in the longer version of the sport.

It was explosively and uncompromisingly brutal if not exhausting sitting through those punishments as they were inflicted. As indeed it should have been. 

We should be uncomfortable with the idea of defeat not least at such a numbingly large scale. While the manner in which the women's 15-a-side team unravelled during Test matches against Kenya and Tunisia was piercingly sad, hope rests in the knowledge that a process ought to be trusted. 

It would be perilous to consider [re]integrating players from the rugby sevens to save face. The supportive murmurs of one school of thought that bemoans a failure to grasp the gravity of the situation should be roundly condemned. This is us enduring, hopefully, short-term pain for long-term glory.

While it might appear like the team is progressing at a spellbindingly sedate pace, things will come together perfectly sooner rather than later. For this to see the light of day, though, common knowledge suggests that virtues like patience, even long-suffering, will have to be of the essence.

We will also expect lots of boldness and smarts from backroom staff on either side of the gender divide. Tolbert Onyango has been widely—and rightly—been acclaimed for a forensic accountant’s eye for minutiae that has seen fresh faces like Roy Kizito bedded in the men's national seven-a-side team. 

Conversely, the men's national 15-a-side team has restored a measure of success by fielding players out of their natural milieus to make up for biting shortages. Deployments at the wing positions have especially felt improvised, almost accidental, with flankers and fullbacks at times looking like square pegs in round holes while holding the fort.

Perhaps, they could borrow a leaf from Onyango whose trust in young blood and fresh faces means that he is less likely to make elementary errors. The head coach of the men’s seven-a-side team is never wanting in confidence or cockiness.

Paradoxically, his arch methods, far from reaching a height of expressive power, have lent a bashfulness to what they set out to achieve—sustained success.

Above all, though, the courage of responsible authorities to maintain entirely different squads across both variants of the sport should be celebrated regardless of the results.

Sufficient measures should of course be taken to smooth out the rough edges, with Onyango's blueprint—as previously stated—proving to be quite instructive. We just might be on the cusp of a new era. Hopefully, this is anything but a false dawn.