Greetings fair people, you know the drill, the weekend is here, more rugby for us to savour! Here are the Kenya Cup fixtures :
Homeboyz vs Kisumu
Strathmore vs Machine
Nondies vs Quins
Nakuru vs KCB
Mwamba vs Impala
ESS
Homeboyz II vs Western Bulls
Strathmore II vs Machine II
Nondies II vs Quins II
Nakuru II vs KCB II
Mwamba II vs Impala II
The Nationwide league quarter finals also take place this weekend :
Eldoret Rfc vs KCA
Masinde Muliro vs Mombasa RFC
USIU vs Moi University
BlakBlad vs Bungoma RFC
(Host teams mentioned first.)
The derby weekend makes a return this game week, with two derbies on the cards, Quins taking on Nondies and Machine facing off with Strathmore. Let us look at the fixtures in a bit more detail.
Homeboyz host Kisumu, at a location that will be confirmed later. The last time these two met in Kisumu, the Djs sneaked away with a 22-21 victory, expect the Kondele boys to be out for revenge. These two have been sort of anchored at the bottom of the table with only two points separating them, Homeboyz (10), Kisumu (12). This will again be a tight one with little to chose between the two, and all to play for.
The universities derby is another fixture whose venue has not yet been announced. The students from the good university (Strathmore) will be hosting their counterparts from the only university in the world apart from Cambridge and Oxford (UoN). The last time these two met, the eschuma edged out the XXVII crew by 3 points, 8-5 it ended. It was a match of very close margins with every part of the pitch being fought out tirelessly. Strathmore are 4th going into this match and will know that any slip ups will dent further any ambitions they had of winning their maiden Kenya cup. On the other hand, Machine are 7th and will look to cement their supremacy over their fellow students.
To the match that I like to refer to as the Old farm derby, why you ask? Because it pits two of Kenya’s oldest clubs the Nondescripts versus the Kenya Harlequins. The last time the two met, they played out to a 10 all draw. The lunch bar Quins have recently hit the form that saw them dominate last season or are almost there, and will look to keep that form running and getting one over their arch rivals. Nondies have also been impressive of late, beating Mwamba and Impala before succumbing to KCB last weekend. The white shirts will be out to get back to winning ways and also take with them the bragging rights for this season. They lie 8th going into this game by the way.
The inform Nakuru will put their 100% home record on the line when they welcome KCB to the rift valley. The Wanyore are second, two points ahead of their visitors, the last time these two met at the lion’s den, Nakuru fought from 25-13 down to tie the match at 25 ups at the end. The fact that these two sides are in the thick of the title race and have a chance to go top of the league depending on the results elsewhere, just adds to the flavor of this match. It is bound to be a cracker of a match, my pick of the weekend actually.
Finally Mwamba will play host to the fast fading Impala, Kulabu are 5th, 8 points ahead of their opponents. Impala have had a pretty rough two weeks, losing to Nondies then Nakuru the two losses dashing any title hopes they had. The red shirts are 17 points off the pace, and with Machine lurking just two points behind them they cannot afford a loss here. Kulabu still have an outside chance and will look to keep their chances alive. The last time these two met in a heated encounter at the Impala grounds, a total of 14 points from Victor Mose ensured a 22-20 win for the gazelles. The bruised and battered Impala will surely look to atone for their previous losses by winning this one and doing the double over one of their fierce rivals.
In other news the Machine, Homeboyz match which was to be played at the UoN grounds was cancelled hours to kick off owing to the fact that the pitch was deemed ‘sub-starndard’. The pitch at UoN is 80 metres wide, 10 metres above the stipulated width. Which begs the question how long has that ground been in use, did it take whoever noticed this that long to notice? And why now? Also how long would it have taken them to remark the pitch, I mean it’s only taking 5 metres off from each side, Surely! Whether the grounds will host any more games will be another question..
In a mid week fixture that did take place, at the Rfuea, Quins II leaped to the top of the ESS standings for the first time this season and also kept their unbeaten record intact after seeing off Strathmore II 31-3.
By the way, harufu ya Hong Kong ya nukia….
With that my ladies, you too gents……
KWISHA!!!!
