With the Kenya Cup and ESS league phases coming to an end a week ago, it will be a good time to see how the 14 clubs faired this season as compared to the last.
As you may remember, the leagues were expanded to incorporate 14 sides from the previous season’s 12. Which means that looking at only where the sides finished and the points scored this season as compared to the last, won’t give us a clear picture of any progress made by the respective clubs.
1. Top Fry Nakuru RFC
The defending champions have been the trail blazers this season, picking up from where they left off last season. The Wanyore hogged the top spot, sitting on the summit of the league for 10 of the 13 weeks played.
During the 2012/13 season, the side finished second at the conclusion of the league phase. During that campaign, the side had 42 points after 11 rounds, scoring an average of 3.8 points a match.
They scored 332 points against their opposition, an average of 30.2 points a match. They let in 169 points, an average of 15.4 points a match. They won 73% of their 11 matches, losing 1 and drawing 2, scoring a total of 6 bonus points out of the 11 matches.
During the just concluded campaign, under Dominique ‘Papa’ Habimana the Top Fry Nakuru RFC were a ruthless outfit. 59 points from a possible 65 meant they moved their average point tally per game to 4.5 points.
They put 585 points against their opposition, taking their average to a massive 45 points per game. Their defence was just as good as their attack, letting in an average of 10.5 points a game. A win percentage of 92 over the 13 games, scoring 11 bonus points meant the Wanyore improved across the board this season.
They looked unplayable over most of this league phase with Quins and Nondies the only ones who came close to competing before Mwamba showed them how to slay this Wanyore monster.
2. Kenya Harlequins
The 2011/12 champions had a disappointing 2012/13 season, where they failed to make the play offs. During that campaign they managed a total of 35 points in 11 matches, an average of 3.2 points a match.
The quartered shirts scored an average of 25.8 points a game and conceded 15.9 over the 11 weeks. 6 wins from 11, meant they had a win percentage of 54.5. Under Enos Otieno, the quartered shirts surprised many this season, finishing second and securing a home semi final.
The Ngong road side managed to navigate through their fixtures very cunningly, making the most of each fixture. That fact underlined by their 13 bonus point tally. The quartered shirts managed to remain with the leading pack for most of the campaign before breaking into the top two in the closing stages.
This season they had a win percentage of 76.9 from the 13 fixtures, scoring an average of 47.5 points, the highest in the league. They conceded an average of 13.9 points a match.This season they put an average of 4.1 points on the log after every match.
The quartered shirts had some great highlights over the past 13 weeks, their highs being the wins over Mwamba and Nondies two sides that beat them last season, on the other side the losses to Nakuru and KCB mark the low points.
3. KCB
The lions had a disappointing 2012/13 campaign, failing to make the top two after being in the top two spots for a big chunk of the campaign. 8 wins out of 11 meant they posted a 72% win rate.
Their 330 points tally meant they scored an average of 30 points a game, conceding an average of 12.8 points. 41 points from 11 games meant that on average they put 3.7 points on the log after each game.
This season, Curtis Olago’s charges started off slowly picking up as the weeks went on. 11 wins from 13 gives them an 84.6% win rate. They managed to score an average of 36.3 points per game, conceding 11.1 points. Picking up 9 bonus points from the 13 game weeks.
The Lions seem to have found a balance between their forwards and backs this season putting in some great results once they hit top form. The win against Quins stands out as the highlight of their season, the low being the 18-0 loss to Impala.
They are one of the sides that were hardest hit by the walk overs seeing as they were only beaten to second place on aggregate points. If they had played Eldoret and Kisumu things might have been different for the lions.
4. Strathmore Leos
The Leos ended last season’s league phase perched at the top of the log on their way to the final. In that run they accumulated 44 points, an average of 4 points per match picking up a total of 10 bonus points.
The students put up a winning percentage of 72.7, scoring an average of 31.5 points a match while conceding 12.63 points. The best numbers that season.
This time round though Mitch Ocholla’s charges found the going a bit tough, after a strong start they fell off the pace but managed to do enough to make the play offs. They averaged 3.6 points on the log after every match with a total of 47 after 13 rounds.
The Leos managed to score an average of 42.1 points against their opponents letting in 12.9 points on average, collecting 7 bonus points.
A drop from last season from the side, but they will be glad that they made it to the play offs and with it a chance at the title. Their highlight of the season has to be the 20-10 win over Quins with the narrow 20-17 win over Nondies proving very vital. The low for them is rather obvious, soaking in the half century against Homeboyz.
These four will be on an equal footing though, come the play offs with no real favourites, Quins and KCB are the hardest hit as far as national team players are concerned. They’ll be keeping a close eye on Cape Town hoping that their charges come back unscathed and ready for the play offs.
Meanwhile, Strathmore and Nakuru will be looking to polish their systems during the Enterprise Cup as they get ready for the play offs.
Watch out for the Mid table 5 score card here…
KWISHA….Nimeruka Nje!!!
