The South Coast Pirates' quest for rugby glory

The South Coast Pirates of Kwale County are a classic team that redefines the concepts of community, hard work and optimism.

They are Pirates after all. They dance with the waves, move with the sea, and are fixated on having a hand in determining their own fate.

The plan was simple when the team was founded in 2013 – to introduce the first proper rugby team in Kwale.

The late George Barbour, who played rugby for the Kenya national team in the early 1970s, was the architect of its establishment.

Years of working with the local community in the picturesque town of Diani had helped build a relationship entrenched in camaraderie and mutual trust with the locals.

Together with Coach David Nolan and Base Titanium’s Paul Thompson, the first small steps into implementing Barbour’s blueprint were taken.

The early days Pirates were mostly a ragtag band of amateur rugby players with little ambition and oblivious of the enormity of the task that lay ahead.

All those involved in helping the club take its first steps were bound by hope rather than expectation, although it did help that they all had a strong passion for the sport.

Nine years on after the South Coast Pirates were founded, the team that has gone through incredible highs and heartbreaking lows remains the only rugby outfit in Kwale County.

The club’s first team is now fully supplemented by an academy that was set up to help scout and develop talented rugby players from local schools.

The academy’s talent development program feeds off some of the club’s first team players who started off as amateurs at some of the same schools they now coach at.

Barbour’s untimely death in 2018 is no doubt the club’s lowest moment although it is satisfying that his dream has stayed alive and that indeed Pirates have flourished into something bigger than just a rugby team.

The Pirates carry the hopes and aspirations of thousands of locals.

One constant in their journey other than the blood, the sweat, and the sheer grit has been their coach, Kevin Amiani.

New to the game in 2013, but overflowing with a youthful eagerness to learn, he is now a fully certified World Rugby level-two coach. In between, he played over ninety games for the South Coast Pirates scoring two hundred and thirty nine points.

As captain, he led the team to back-to-back Coast region titles in 2015 and 2016. Nobody encapsulates the spirit of the Pirates more than him. The transition into becoming a coach was a natural consequence of all the values instilled during his time as a player with the team.

Kevin’s story mirrors that of his side. They have both built something impressive under very difficult circumstances. His first encounter with rugby was at Mkwakwani Primary in Kwale County.

Volunteer coaches from South Coast Pirates would occasionally conduct rugby clinics at the school and Kevin was indoctrinated into the game at first sight. He credits the coaches for guiding him into what he calls the ‘right path’.

He looks back at his journey with undiluted pride. “They made me feel like I was part of something. After high school, I decided to fully focus on playing for Pirates,” Kevin explains.

His eagerness to learn combined with opportunities the team offered meant that his love for the game grew in leaps and bounds.

He was no longer just satisfied with being a player and so in 2021, after months of rigorous assessment, Kevin became one of a handful of certified level-two World Rugby coaches in the country.

A guy with over ninety games under his belt, a decent amount of trophies won, and over nine years of playing rugby does not need certification to prove how good he is, but it is a sweet cherry to put on top.

Despite all the strides taken, Kevin wants more. For himself, but most importantly for his team. “I want to help Pirates players understand the game and play rugby at the big stage.”

Kevin is very formulaic in his coaching approach. He not only hopes to inspire the players with his warmth and kindness but make them champions through industry and dedication.

“Our short term goal is to ensure the team continue playing in the Division-one league of the seven-aside circuit but everyone’s goal is to play in the Kenya Cup.”

The Kenya Cup is Kenya Rugby Union’s premier fifteens competition.

To fully understand the growth of the Pirates, one has to look at their record over the years. They have gone from scrapping it out against teams in the lower divisions to knocking at the door of Kenya’s elite fifteens rugby competition.

Last season, they came so close to achieving this dream but fell agonizingly short in the decider against Nairobi University’s Mean Machine.

“Losing out on the opportunity last year really hurt. The boys were really disappointed. This season, we have another opportunity and we intend to go all the way,” Kevin asserts.

This resilience is ingrained and embedded in the team’s DNA. Despite the lack of proper structures in Kwale County, the club has taken impressive strides using whatever resources available to them, to make rugby more accessible to the local community.

Through various strategic partnerships, the club has undertaken to help develop the community through rugby.

They now have a social program in place that focuses on a myriad of initiatives including introducing young children to rugby and developing their skills. They also have a strategic development plan to use rugby to empower women in the County.

Recently, the team has been squaring it out against the crème de la crème of rugby in the National Sevens circuit.

A few years ago, this endeavor would have proved to be quite the quagmire. Inadequate funds sometimes meant that travel and other necessary logistics were often quite an issue to organize. Enter, Jumia Pay.

This season’s circuit has seen Jumia Pay come on board as one of the team sponsors. As part of the sponsorship deal, the team has carried the brand’s name for the duration of this year’s sevens circuit. In this partnership, Jumia Pay provided and facilitated payments towards the settlement of costs for the club throughout the circuit.

According to Nelly Movine who is the Head of Financial Services at JumiaPay Kenya, the sponsorship is part of their wider plan to positively impact lives and the wider society through innovative digital solutions.

“Rugby is becoming a lifestyle sport in Kenya, attracting diverse youthful fans. JumiaPay Kenya is keen to serve the wider rugby fraternity through its everyday lifestyle services.”

JumiaPay Kenya’s involvement with the club adds to efforts made by Base Titanium who have been club sponsors since 2015, and Hemingways who came on board as co-sponsors of the club in 2019.

The two have been anchors of support for the club and have been a constant in terms of logistical support especially during the strenuous and demanding Kenya Rugby Union Championship season.

Base Titanium have been strong supporters of community-based initiatives since they set up shop in the country.

According to Simon Wall who is the General Manager External Affairs at the company, the sponsorship is part of a wider plan to support sports programs in Kwale County schools in the hope that these programs provide an opportunity for school children to get active.

They also hope to positively impact behavior and character through sportsmanship.

“Base Titanium’s support of the Pirates is a further demonstration of our commitment to the Kwale community. The Pirates have built a wonderful fan base and we have thoroughly enjoyed watching their success in recent years.”

Former Hemingways Holdings Chairman, Richard Evans explains why it was easy to buy into the South Coast Pirates’ vision.

The team was an attractive option not only because of their story and ambition, but because of the potential a rugby team from Kenya’s exotic south coast has in being the perfect confluence for sports and tourism.

“As a corporate sponsor of the club through Hemingways, we have felt the benefit of our sponsorship. As part of our global rugby family, our sponsorship of the South Coast Pirates has allowed us to interact with fans and engage them about a sport that feeds their passion.”

The club has posted some impressive displays against some of the stalwarts of the first division in the sevens circuit. A third place finish in Division Two of the Kabeberi Sevens is another notable highlight.

In the final leg of the circuit, the team received the ‘Best Team Spirit’ award. The award was an ode to their exemplary commitment and dedication in promoting the spirit of the game.

They also now boast of talent that has caught the eyes of rugby scouts in the country with players like Charles Okwemba and Clifford Odhiambo looking to join Charles Tendwa in appearing for the national rugby team at various levels.

There is no doubt that with more support from different stakeholders, things could get even better at the club.

The late George Barbour’s efforts lay the perfect foundation, the love of the game has been an ever-present, and the club is slowly endearing itself to a Kwale community that was not so keen on rugby before.

There is a feeling that something great lies just beyond the horizon. Something in the air that has the Pirates ready to knuckle down even more, beat on, all hands on deck against the currents as they seek what they believe is their destiny: To become one of the best rugby clubs in the world- and to do it their way.