Tabadamu from Fiji dazzled many at the Kenyatta Stadium over the weekend to not only run away with the Masaku title, but the half a million cash prize it came with.
The Fijians were clearly a class above the rest of the sides, registering big scores all the way to the final where they beat the Uganda sevens development side 31-14. Tabadamu started their Masaku campaign on a strong footing beating Homeboyz 42-0 on day one, they would keep the ’40s’ theme going through Day 1 as they led the sides into the cup quarter finals.
KCB also unbeaten on day one were joined by defending champions Quins, Kenya U-19, Nakuru RFC, Homeboyz RFC, FARU and the Uganda development side. Missing from that list were 2012 runners up, Mwamba who were relegated to the bowl, after finishing third in their pool behind the Kenya U-19 and UG development side on points difference.
Nondies would also do battle in the Bowl on day two alongside Kisumu RFC, Jombi, Kilunda, Stormers, Oslo and Pirates on Day 2.
Quarter Final Pairings :
Bowl :
Oslo vs Pirates
Nondies vs Jombi
Kisumu vs Stormers
Mwamba vs Kilunda.
Cup :
KCB vs Homeboyz
Kenya U-19 vs Kenya Harlequins
Nakuru RFC vs Tabadamu
Faru vs UG Development
Nondies found themselves in a tight spot as they failed to get past Jombi in the second Bowl quarter final. Mwamba, Pirates and Kisumu didn’t have such troubles as they proceeded to the Bowl semi finals.
Nondies were joined by Oslo of Norway, Stormers and hosts Kilunda.
In the Cup Homeboyz needed a sudden death try against KCB to win 10-5 in the pick of the quarter finals. The UG Development side, Quins and Tabadamu had a more straight forward route to the semi finals.
Semi Final Pairings :
Shield :
Nondies vs Oslo
Stormers vs Kilunda
Bowl :
Pirates vs Jombi
Kisumu vs Mwamba
Plate :
KCB vs FARU
Kenya U-19 vs Nakuru
Cup :
Homeboyz vs Ug Development
Quins vs Tabadamu
The second Shield semi final between county rivals Stormers and Kilunda wasthe pick of the round as the hosts won 19-0 to book a final berth against Oslo RFC who got past the know beat up Nondies. The hosts went on to claim the Shield title with a 15-14 result in the final.
In the Bowl, a young Kisumu RFC side piled the misery on Mwamba edging them 5-0 to proceed to the final where they faced Jombi, where they narrowly lost 10-0 to the Strathmore outfit.
The Plate saw KCB outwit FARU in the semi final, before beating the Kenya U-19, 24-0 to lift the title.
Homeboyz seemed to have used up all their reserves in that quarter final win against KCB, as they struggled to keep up with the UG development side, eventually going down 19-12. The Djs would set up a repeat of last year’s final against Quins in the Bronze play off, after the quartered shirts were outclassed by Tabadamu 31-7.
Quins again took advantage of the now exhausted Homeboyz side, repeating their win here last here and claim third spot. Tabadamu were impeccable , as they had been throughout the tournament, as they strolled to a 31-14 final result to lift the 2014 Masaku title.
In the first division Blakblad beat Egerton in the final to become the first Masaku sevens division 1 champions.
It was a great two days of rugby, the quality has definitely gone up, it was great to see the likes of Kisumu back on the right track and in new kit too. The hosts Kilunda keep growing with each tournament I have seen them play.
The sides now have something to work with as we get closer to the sevens series, I believe that had this tournament been held on the same date as it was last year, the Fijians and Ugandans would have had a much harder time here.
KWISHA…Nimeruka Nje!!!
