You are good, right? It was another great weekend of rugby, and now that the dust has settled here is the review. As usual we start with the scores;
KCB 15 – 15 Impala
Quins 22 – 21 Mwamba
Kisumu 24 – 44 Strathmore
Homeboyz 17 – 29 Nondies
Machine 23 – 20 Nakuru
Action from the Lion’s den. |
Starting in Kisumu, where the Kondele boys were again at the wrong end of another big score, this time the XXVII crew their tormentors. It was not all gloom though as Kisumu were the first to score, and went into the break with the scores at a respectable 20-17 to Strathmore. However they clearly did not get the memo going into the second half as the students ran in 6 tries, Brian Okwomi and Andrew ‘Mtawarira’ Luyundi each with a brace were among the scorers for strath, Andola kicking in 3 conversions to cap a successful trip for the XXVII crew. This results catapults Strath to 2nd courtesy of their superior points aggregate while sending Kisumu to the bottom for the first time if I am not wrong.
To the other Kenya Cup fresher, Homeboyz who had the same fate as their fellow debutants though with a scoreline that suggests it was more of a contest. Us guys of Nondies scoring 4 tries courtesy of Derrick Wamalwa, George Odipo, Teddy Salano and Ray Kidiga. The scorers apart from Teddy bear testimony that their forwards put in a dominant display to ensure this victory. The Djs’ promising start to the league is slowly grinding to a halt, maybe the demands of the league are starting to take their toll, or maybe it’s just a hiccup, we wait and see.This result takes Nondies to 7th while Homeboyz slip to 8th.
When I mentioned here during the preview that the Machine, Nakuru match was going to be a cracker and not one way traffic as most of you imagined, guys thought I was crazy. Well there you have it..I hate to say that I told you so..but sometimes you just have to do things you do not like. Eschuma maintained their dominance over the Wanyore though just, as they almost lost the plot at the end when Nakuru managed to narrow the score from 23 -13 to 23 – 20 in the last 15 minutes, and earn a deserved bonus point as well. Machine put in a great display led by their captain Cedric Odera who bagged a brace on the day. So the jinx continues, as Machine’s kamuti bears fruit once again, lol seriously though this victory was down to Machine’s hard work and spirit, nothing more.I am still looking for the last time the Wanyore won at the UoN grounds. Nakuru drop to fourth, Machine move to 9th after this result.
I know this was supposed to be my feature match, but unfortunately I could not make it to the RFUEA grounds for a couple of very serious reasons, and no it was not because of the Princesses comment. Moving on to the game, Kulabu were quicker off the blocks and drew first blood through Akatu, with Oduk making it 7-0 through the resulting conversion. However quins replied almost immediately through Keegan bringin the scores to 7-5. Both sides missed scoring chances from penalties but Quins would make amends through a try by Brian Nyikuli,10-7 at half time. Tall breathed life into the Mwamba attack early in the second half, with the first of his two tries. In this one he beat a couple of defenders before dashing a good length of the field to score at the corner, Collo making no mistake from his boot, this time as Mwamba took the lead 14-10. Quins would again reply and take the lead , this time via Edward Aseko, Dennis Muhanji hitting the post with the conversion, scores 14-15. Kayange would then come up with his second of the day, to make the scores 21-15 after a successful conversion by Tito Oduk. Kulabu were heading to another great victory until Muhanji decided to take matters into his own hands, picking up a loose ball and touching down under the posts, he would take the conversion, and the victory for Quins 22-21. Kulabu remain top, having earned a bonus point while Quins will take this as an awakening of sorts as they look to defend their title, they move up one spot to 6th. Mwamba have navigated quite impressively through what was a tricky trilogy of fixtures against Impala, KCB and Quins. Though they lost two of these games they did so narrowly, and will fancy their chances to go all the way even more after that performance.
To the lions’ den, the lions hosting the gazelles, and as expected it was a battle mainly in the forwards both sides looking to impose themselves in this department early on. It was Impala who brought the game to their hosts in the early exchanges, they scored through David Dinda at the corner, Mose kicking the conversion wide. The lions grew in confidence after this score and put together nothing short of 10 phases mostly in the forwards taking them deep into Impala territory, the red shirts defended resolutely and won back possession. This would however be short lived as KCB’s pressure forced an infringment and won them a penalty which they kicked for touch, won the resulting lineout and mauled but were quickly brought to a halt just short of the try line. They patiently bulid up from this inching closer to the try line, John ‘Meso’ Ahenda barging over the line to tie the scores at 5-5. After this score the momentum would shift again to Impala’s favour, their pressure leading to a penalty that Mose drove wide, still Impala had the upper hand as Nato Simiyu split the KCB defence at will during this period. His efforts were finally rewarded as Mose grounded the ball and converted successfully, this after great work from the no.10. 12-5 to Impala it went into the break.
It was this tight..so who’s ball is this? |
KCB began the second half with a new urgency, they were calling the shots and asking questions of the Impala defence the best way they know how, big hits. They would soon get an answer when Impala committed an infringement, the lions winning a penalty. In almost carbon copy fasion, they kicked for touch, won the lineout and mauled, but this time nothing but the line could bring them down, Sydney Mwai doing the honours, Fabian Olando with the conversion making it 12-12. The pace in the game died down as it slowly turned into a sluggish affair with both sides matching each other pound for pound. Impala would win a penalty after a KCB obstruction at a ruck, Mose slotting it in to make the scores 15-12 with the game in its closing stages. Staring into their second defeat in as many matches KCB would throw in everything they had, pounding the Impala guard relentlessly as they went for the jugular. Their probes won them a penalty inside the Impala 40 yard, with a victory only a maul away, most would have gone for the lineout but the composed KCB captain Phillip Wamae pointed to the sticks, a wise call from the skipper. Darwin Mukidza would take the kick tying the scores at 15 all. The match came to an end moments later with the spoils rightfully shared, as none of the teams really dominated the other.
My man of the match is also a tie, infact a 4 way tie as I could not separate these four..Nato Simiyu, Leslie Mango, Phillip Wamae and Kevin ‘Hawk’ Umbuge. They all had a great game, Nato on attack was a constant threat when he was on the ball. Leslie had a great work ethic, great in defence and attack, his combination with Wamae and Ogot dominated the line outs. Anyone who has seen Hawk knows the kind of work rate he displays, this time he was no different, he was present in every other break down and was very dangerous going forward. Wamae, led his charges from the front with a great performance all round, and never faded away.
This result means KCB remain third, though level on points with second placed Strathmore, Impala drop to fifth, only 3 points behind the leaders with a game in hand.
Here is a closer look at the implications of those results on the table, I’ll do a more detailed one this time, including the aggregate points scored, games played and bonus points gained.
1. Mwamba – PLD 7 – W 4 – L 3 – AGG 78 – BON 4 – PTS 20
2. Strathmore – PLD 6 – W 4- L 2 – AGG 33 – BON 3 – PTS-19
3. KCB – PLD 6 – W 3 – L 1 – AGG 7 – BON 3 – PTS 19
4. Nakuru – PLD 6 – W 3 – L 2 – AGG 30 – BON 4 – PTS 18
5. Impala – PLD 6 – W 3 – L 2 – AGG 63 – BON 3 – PTS 17
6. Quins – PLD 5 – W 2 – L 2 – AGG (-2) – BON 2 – PTS 12
7. Nondies – PLD 6 – W 2 – L 3 – AGG (-22) – BON 1 –PTS 11
8. Homeboyz – PLD 5 – W 2 – L 2 – AGG (-19) – BON 1 – PTS 9
9. Machine – PLD 5 –W 2 – L 3 – AGG (-47) – BON 1 – PTS 9
8. Homeboyz – PLD 5 – W 2 – L 2 – AGG (-19) – BON 1 – PTS 9
9. Machine – PLD 5 –W 2 – L 3 – AGG (-47) – BON 1 – PTS 9
10. Kisumu – PLD 6 – W 1 – L 5 – AGG (-125) – BON 2 – PTS 6
(PLD = Games Played, W = Games Won, L = Games Lost, AGG = Points Difference, BON =Bonus points scored, PTS = Overall points.)
Where the games played don’t match with the sum of the wins and defeats then it means the difference is games that the team has drawn. E.g Nakuru have palyed 6, won 3 and lost 1, the difference is 1 meaning they have drawn 1 game….hapo sawa? *crossing fingers that the table is correct*
In other news making headlines, the union announced that the Kenya cup fixtures will continue this weekend in place of the Enterprise Cup ones which have been rescheduled and will now be played in June and July. This is to clear the calendar for the English counties tour also in June.
The sevens squad to Wellington and Las Vegas will be named in the course of the week, kesho maybe so wait for that..yeah that’s about it.
The sevens squad to Wellington and Las Vegas will be named in the course of the week, kesho maybe so wait for that..yeah that’s about it.
Before I go here are the ESS results and other collated results that I could get,
ESS
KCB II 17 – 0 Impala II
Western Bulls 19 – 8 Strath II
Nondies II 29 – 0 Homeboyz II
Machine II 12 – 13 Nakuru II
Quins II 15 – 5 Mwamba II
Kimathi University 13 – 0 Nazarene
BlakBlad 12 – 5 USIU
Kakamega 12 – 10 Masinde Muliro
JKUAT 29 – 5 Mombasa Poly.
With that ladies and gentlemen…..be productive, aaannnnndddd…
KWISHA!!!