Before the weekend, the last time Nakuru RFC had solely won the Great Rift Ten a side title, Tupac was alive. I’ll let that sink in..
It was 1995, the Wanyore finally ended that drought at the weekend, with a hard fought 5-0 win over last year’s champions KCB, under the pouring rain at the NAC.
Coming into the 26th Edition of the Great rift 10 a side, the hosts had been through a torrid period in the league and cup, losing out on the titles they had won last year, alongside their long standing home unbeaten record. In many ways you could say that this was it for them..
The hosts did not waste time showing their intentions on Day 1, registering 24-0, 45-0 and 17-0 results against UOE, Comras and Quins in Pool E. Alongside KCB they were the only sides not to concede a point at the end of Day 1. The Lions finished top of the pile with Nakuru finishing second.
Day 1 action was more or less straight forward with the favorites all booking their quarter final slots, that is apart Pool F. Impala got an early scare in their first match, going down 12-10 to an impressive Bungoma side. Western Bulls had beaten Comras 26-0 in the other pool fixture.
The second round in this pool saw Impala get back to winning ways with a 24-0 win over TUK, with Western Bulls making it two in two after a 29-0 win over Bungoma. Heading into the last round of games, top spot was still a possibility for Impala, seeing as the tournament rules use the head to head rule in case of a tie in points.
The two sides faced off in the last match of Day 1, with Impala claiming a hard fought 10-5 win and top spot in the pool. It was heart break for the Bulls who dropped to the Bowl competition with Quins and Homeboyz making the cup as the best placed second place finishers.
Quarter Final Pairings
Shield :
Egerton vs UOE
Kisumu vs Masaku
Comras vs Eldoret
KCA vs Mean Machine
Bowl :
Bungoma vs Western Bulls
USIU vs JKUAT
Blakblad vs Sharks
Catholic vs TUK
Cup :
KCB vs Kenya Harlequins
Kabras vs Mwamba
Nakuru vs Homeboyz
Strathmore vs Impala
Mean Machine went on to pick up the Shield title, after beating KCA 10-0 in the quarters, narrowly getting past Comras 19-17. The Eschuma then confidently saw off Masaku 24-5 in the final.
Remember the drop goal contest last year between Impala and Homeboyz? Well there was another one this year, but this time in Bowl.
USIU beat JKUAT 29-10 in the first Bowl quarter final, other results seeing Western Bulls beat Bungoma 43-5 in their second meeting of the tournament, the Monks beat TUK 20-0 with Blad beating the Sharks 17-0.
The first Bowl semi final saw Western Bulls ease past USIU 31-5, the second one pitted two campus rivals in Blakblad and the CUEA Monks. There was little to pick between the two sides as Blad went into the break leading 5-0.
The Monks would level things up in the second half, to see the two sides tied at the final whistle. 5 minutes each way of sudden death could not separate these two either, meaning that we would see a drop goal contest. The Monks had their kicking boots on as they proceeded to the final.
The Bulls then made the most of their relegation to the Bowl by picking up the title after beating the spent Monks 17-7.
The cup quarter finals were real close contests, KCB edging Kenya Harlequins 10-0 in the first quarter final. Kabras sugar raced to a 21-0 half time lead against Mwamba, before Kulabu set up a spirited come back in the second half though falling just short at 21-14.
The third quarter final saw the hosts Nakuru take on Homeboyz, in what was the pick of the bunch. The two could not be separated at the end of the regular 20 minutes, with the score tied at 0-0. This meant that the two would now head into sudden death.
The Wanyore would finally find a way past Homeboyz, though this was through a penalty. The hosts would pile the pressure in the first half of sudden death, forcing the Djs into an infringement at the breakdown just outside their 22. Nakuru opted to go for the posts and nailed the kick to claim a 3-0 result.
The last cup quarter final was a more straight forward affair as Strathmore blanked Impala 26-0 to complete the semi finals list.
The Djs went on to lift the plate after seeing off Impala 10-0 in the semi final, then beating Mwamba 24-0 in the final. Mwamba having earlier beaten Quins 14-5 in the semi finals.
KCB and Nakuru were still carrying their 100% defence records heading into the semi finals, could either take that impressive run to the final?
The Lions were first up against the so far impressive Kabras, their ‘virginity’ could make it past the hard running Kabras side as they battled to a 10-5 result.
The Lions were first on the score board before Kabras struck, the defending champions were again on the board as we approached the half time break. The second half would remain a cagey affair, the lions doing just enough to hold on to that result.
The second semi final was an even closer affair as hosts Nakuru took on the Strathmore Leos. The Wanyore were first on the board to take a 5-0 lead into the breather. The Wanyore then held on to that result and their defensive record in an action packed second half to get one step closer to the title.
The tournament had brought with it the long awaited rains to the town of Nakuru, the showers respectfully falling and doing little to cause much of an interference to play, that was until the final.
The skies opened up just before kick off and did not relent until way after the final whistle. This made the playing conditions horrid, with the surface struggling to handle the showers, turning it into something short of a rice field. Credit to the two sides who still delivered a quality final with the prevailing conditions.
The final was a cagey affair, with these being the best defensive sides over the two days, it was always going to be a low scoring affair. The two sides sparred over the first half, with none landing any clear punch on the other. Nakuru however looked more potent with ball in hand, at the same time fizzling away the defending champions attacks.
The Wanyore continued to grow in confidence as the second half progressed and when Victor Shigholi received the ball at the back of a Nakuru scrum, passed to Martin Muita, it didn’t look like much was going to come from this attack with the KCB lines seemingly well positioned.
Muita however spotted a gap on the Lions blind side, stepped to his left and placed a speculative punt to the gap. The Lions were slow to react, as Muita turned on his after burners, the bounce was kind to Muita who regathered the ball ahead of the now advancing Lions defense to slide in for the try.
The match would then turn into a show of great defence by the Wanyore, putting out all attempts at their line by the Lions. They would hold on to that lead and their perfect defensive run and claim the main title at the 26th edition of the Great rift ten a side.
The Wanyore were finally Great rift champions, there was a collective sigh of relief that went through the NAC, as the side claimed their first piece of silverware this season. With the side already out of the running in the cup competitions, you can understand their joy.
Tournament MVP Leslie Ochieng, let his recent experience in Hong Kong show as he was a class act over the two days.
It was double joy for the Wanyore as their ladies side also bagged the women’s title, more of that in a later posting. The division II was claimed by MKU Thika who edged out the Brumbies 17-15 in the final, the division’s Plate went to Daystar with the Bowl going to KEMU Nairobi’s cabinet.
A big well in to the tournament’s organizers for delivering another great two days of 10’s rugby, can’t wait for what next year will hold.
We are still voting aren’t we?
KWISHA…Nimeruka Nje!!!
