Has Masaku become rugby’s new sin city?

When 10,000 rugby lovers descended on Machakos Town for The Masaku Sevens, two things were bound to happen;tickets running out as did condoms! JAMES MAKAU writes on the lively carnival that reigned for days There is a telling joke amongst Masaku Sevens rugby fans: Nobody knows who won! It is the common answer you are likely to get when you ask many of the hundreds who attended the three-day tournament. “I didn’t actually see most of the games,” confesses Natasha Gacheri a 23-year-old university student.“Usually, few people are actually follow the game,” she confessed. Some 10,000 people attended Masaku’s annual three-day rugby tournament at the weekend, but for many, the real attractions are off the field, as the social scene and other distractions take over and go into overdrive.
But Gacheri is living proof that you don’t have to be a rugby fanatic to enjoy the sport she calls thrilling and manly. For three days, Gach
eri was a common feature among hundreds of ecstatic fun-seekers who descended on Machakos Town. Since the tournament debuted four years ago, she has religiously attended each of them. Although she did not have knowledge of teams in the sevens, that did not deter her from declaring the tournament the best fun event ever! “As a spectator, I think players uniforms were cool,” she says.
“I also liked their shoes,” she added. But, of course, there was more than that! Muscular, tattooed men and they were not in short supply! “Today (Saturday) I have gotten a third dude,” she said drooling at a well-built man with a pierced right ear passing by. “All men here are looking for women and women are looking for men. Therefore, we are all in searching mode so why not have mad fun when it lasts?” Like the rest of attendants, Gacheri’s fun is derived from elsewhere other than games on the field. In the car park, although not all cars had tints, that did not deter creative minds from converting their shirts and lesos into temporary curtains as randy lovers went for each other in rushed lust reminiscence of scenes from the movie,The Wolf of the Wall Street.
And as nightfall slowly crept, one could hear moans piercing through the nightfall and giggles from excited women. But that was expected, with fans probably taking over from where they left last year! And the sinful scenes were replicated everywhere. Intoxicated couples kissed each other against trees, on car bonnets, by the roadside but those whose alcohol had not impaired their judgment, would be seen heading for lodgings. The event, which invariably sells out within days of tickets going on sale, ignite a lively carnival atmosphere that reigns throughout Machakos Town and its environs starting Friday till Sunday.
Creativity is high as fans dresses up in themed costumes, transforming the stadium into a sea of colour and imagination as they fill the place with roars of encouragement for their teams. Lovers of canned beer, great wines and delicious food are spoilt for choice as hundreds of bandas outdo each other with provocatively dressed bevies ushering awestruck customers with infectious smiles more seductive than what’s on display. After a day at the Sevens, fans and players head to town to celebrate.
The streets leading to entertainment joints are always awash with partying which lasts well into the night. Hotel and lodging owners recorded roaring business as hundreds of rugby lovers-or pretenders descended into Governor Alfred Mutua county which is slowly taking over the Naxvegas ( Las Vegas) tag from Nakuru because of its carefree partying and ‘pantying’ lifestyle. Well-attended was the tournament, that management of two hotels closed in May for renovations hurriedly reopened up to cash in on the massive surge in business.
There were also noticeable increase in number of scantily-clad women in the streets of Machakos. Some of these women say they love rugby because its ‘hard and physical’ “Rugby is not a soft sport like football where players keep falling even on the slightest push and roll over the ground as if hit by a tomahawk missile and will not rise up until they get some attention from the referee,” observes Maggie,24. “Rugby is a dynamic sport,”she added. “These men, overall, are well-rounded athletes. And some of the movements they do require a lot of athleticism, leaving most women wondering and imagining some crazy things,” she confessed, giggling.
Has Masaku become rugby’s new sin city?