Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi, the nominee for the Prime Cabinet Secretary position, was a star rugby player during his youthful years.
Musalia, the former Vice President fell in love with the game while in high school, precisely Nairobi School.
According to the 62-year-old, those who wished to play rugby then at the post-primary learning institution had to maintain high levels of hygiene, be punctual and never step on the grass to be incorporated into the school team.
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The former Finance Minister revealed that he played as a winger for the school’s team which was known as the Patch Machine.
Musalia was trusted by the team management to play the wing role because he was swift and made accurate moves whenever he had the ball in his hands.
The son of the late Moses Mudamba Mudavadi, a powerful politician during the late President Daniel Moi's time, added that due to his speed and efficacy, he earned the nickname "Phantom".
‘‘That’s where I got my nickname Phantom, because of how fast I was both on the pitch and on track, where I stood out in the 100 and 200 meter races. In rugby, speed is everything, and being fast played well to my advantage," he was quoted by Debunk Media.
The father of three added that they underwent rigorous training to withstand the physicality that the game entails.
‘‘Rugby is a rough sport because you have to tackle someone hard, or someone will give you a bodycheck. And so we were trained and conditioned for it, because it is extremely physical.
"Once you’re on the pitch you have to bring it out, and be rough because the game asks for it, but once you’re off the pitch you don’t engage in any physical confrontation," he divulged.
After completing his secondary education, Mudavadi joined the University of Nairobi where he continued to play rugby for the Mean Machine RFC.
He revealed that Mean Machine RFC got its name due to the rugby rivalry that existed then between Lenana School and Nairobi School.
When the rugby players from both institutions joined University of Nairobi, none of them would allow the team to be called after their former high schools’ side, thus they decided to combine the names.
The Lenana School rugby team was called the Mean Maron, hence they picked one named from Mean Maroon and Patch Machine to come up with the name Mean Machine RFC.
When asked what vital life lesson he learned by playing rugby, the former Sabatia Member of Parliament stated that the game taught him the essence of teamwork.
‘‘Team work. You learn to coalesce together and be your brother’s keeper, because being a rough sport the only way for you to survive is to make sure you operate in a coordinated manner as a unit, otherwise you suffer serious individual and collective injuries," he ended.
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