With showbiz rugby shelved for another year, it is finally time to get back to some real rugby with the 34th edition of Kenya’s favourite 15’s tournament, the Impala Floodlits.
Looking at the 10 matches lined up for day 1 across the three categories, all I can say is, what a way to kick off the 15s season!
Schools
The school’s category welcomes back Nairobi School’s Patch Machine who will be facing 2013 Floodies champions Ofafa Jericho. Defending champions Laiser Hill will be facing the Mean Maroon of Lenana School with Wazimba of Mang’u taking on Githiga. Alliance High School will be taking on Moi Forces Academy to round up the quarter final pairings.
Apart from the last quarter finals that pits traditional school’s rugby giants in Alliance and MFA, the rest are an indicator of just how the tide has shifted in the recent past. Laiser Hill Academy are now the side to beat, well in the tournaments they are allowed to play in. The Rongai boys having swept the floor with everything and everyone on their way to not only national but regional domination.
Githiga, who made their big break earlier in the year by beating Nairobi School in the Damu Pevu final to secure Prescott qualification will be seeking their second scalp in Mang’u. 2013 champions Ofafa Jericho will be waiting for the once great Patch Machine as they look to reclaim the title they lost to Laiser Hill last year.
So will the new school’s order hold after these mouth watering quarter final fixtures or will the traditional giants reclaim lost glory?
Laiser Hill v Lenana – 11.45am – RFUEA
Githiga v Mang’u – 12.30pm – RFUEA
Ofafa Jericho v Nairobi School – 1.45pm – RFUEA
Alliance v MFA – 3.00pm – RFUEA
Universities
This year’s universities category has been watered down, with only 4 sides participating. This owing to the early kick off of the Nationwide league, meaning that most sides that would have played here are now concentrating on Kenya cup qualification.
The 2014 champions Blak blad and the recently relaunched university of Nairobi’s Mean Machine have been handed byes to the Semi finals and will be facing one of the four sides in action at the weekend.
USIU, the side that Blad edged by 1 point in last year’s final are among those four sides on hand to battle it out for the semi final slots alongside the Monks, TUK and the Catulus. USIU who picked the 2012 title will be looking to exorcise last year’s memories of that final when they take on the Catholic Monks. The winner here going ahead to meet Mean Machine.
That fixture will be a replay of one of last year’s semi finals, where USIU pulled off a 25-14 result against the odds. It will also be the perfect chance for the Monks to avenge that loss and maybe go all the way to claiming their first Floodies title.
After missing out on last year’s edition, the second string Strathmore Leos side will take another stub this year at the Varsities Floodies title. In 2013 they fell to Blak Blad in the final, this year they will be kicking off their campaign against the Technical University of Kenya. For a chance to meet Blak Blad in the semi finals.
TUK have been a constant participant at the Floodlits but have never won the tournament, they will be looking to avoid a repeat of last year where they were beaten 46-10 by eventual champions in the opening weekend.
TUK v Strathmore University – 11.00am – Impala Club
USIU v Catholic Monks – 12.40pm – Impala Club
Clubs
The Clubs category this year has manged to serve some sumptuous fixtures, with the Ngong road derby probably the pick of the bunch.
Menengai Cream Homeboyz v Total Nondies – 2.00pm – Impala Club
Distant Ngong road neighbours the Menengai Cream Homeboyz and Total Nondies will get the ball rolling in the first quarter final. Recent contests between these two have been largely one sided with Nondies getting the better of the Djs every time. Last time these two met in the league, Nondies were 30-8 victors at the Red Lion.
Its almost been a year since that fixture which was played on the 30th of November, since then the Djs have grown in stature, finishing just a point behind Nondies at the end of the Kenya cup. Then playing in an Enterprise cup final, in so many words, they will be no push overs here.
Nondies have had a great run at the Floodies in the last three years, perhaps due to the influx of former Machine players at the Red Lion. They reached the finals 2 years in a row, winning one of those. Last year however, they were surprisingly knocked out at the Quarter finals by Machine and will be looking to avoid a repeat of that result this year.
History will however take a back seat when these two line up at 2:00 pm.
Resolution Impala Saracens v Kenya Harlequin – 3.40pm – Impala Club
The latest edition of Kenya rugby’s fiercest rivalry will kick off at a few minutes to tea time when Impala host next door neighbours Quins.
Until recently this fixture was more of a formality, with Quins the dominant force in this ecosystem. That however changed last year when Impala claimed their first derby win in a long while, an emphatic 33-22 victory at the RFUEA.
This will be the perfect chance for Impala to make it back to back wins and avoid a repeat of last year where they excited their tournament at the quarter final.
Quins will probably be silently confident heading into this encounter, with Impala looking like the favourites. After that 15s season to forget, last year’s losing finalists will be looking to kick off this campaign on a winning note and I doubt that there’ll be a better win that one against Impala, at the Impala club.
Top Fry Nakuru v Pan Africa Strathmore Leos – 5.20pm – Impala Club
The third quarter final will see power houses Nakuru RFC and the Strathmore Leos square it out. The Leos having missed last year’s edition where Nakuru finished 3rd.
This as you may remember will be a replay of the 2012 Kenya final, since then these two have played out to some close encounters. The last two clashes between the two ended in a 17-6 result for Nakuru, at a rainy Impala club in a league fixture, with the other one ending in a 21-15 result for Nakuru in the Kenya cup bronze play off.
These two have been on and off participants of Floodies, Strathmore last playing in 2013, prior to last year Nakuru hadn’t featured here in quite a while. The Leos were champions in 2011, Nakuru are yet to lift a Floodies title.
Expect a closely fought out battle here as these two get kick off their fifteens seasons, with both eyeing silver ware they will do their ambitions no harm to start off with the Floodies title.
KCB v Mwamba – 7.00pm – Impala Club
To wrap up match day 1 action under floodlights, will be a blockbuster fixture pitting defending champions KCB and Mwamba RFC. The two sides with 7 Floodies titles between them, Mwamba holding 3 with KCB on 4.
The Lions have enjoyed a great run at the Floodies from 2011 reaching 3 finals in 4 years, winning 2 of those. Mwamba’s last triumph coming in 2008. The Lions have had the upper hand in this fixture for quite a while now, the last meeting between this two ending in a 28-15 triumph for KCB.
The black shirts bowed out at the quarter finals here last year at the hands of Quins and will be looking to stay in it a bit longer this time when they come up against KCB.
It promises to be great clash, one to probably keep guys away from the Rugby world cup quarter final between the Springboks and Wales.
Menengai Cream Homeboyz v Total Nondies – 2.00pm – Impala Club
Resolution Impala Saracens v Kenya Harlequin – 3.40pm – Impala Club
Top Fry Nakuru v Pan Africa Strathmore Leos – 5.20pm – Impala Club
KCB v Mwamba – 7.00pm – Impala Club
KWISHA…Nimeruka Nje!!
