When Kabras Sugar Rugby Club walk on to the ASK Showground rugby grounds to defend their Kenya Cup title for an unprecedented fourth time, this Saturday, they will be seeking to go where no one else has gone in the competition, since the invention of MS Word.
Kabras will be seeking to become the first team in the modern era to sit at a distinguished table of teams that have lifted the Kenya Cup title five times in a row. Currently, at that table are Impala (1970-74) and Nondies (1979-82). To put that into context, the last time that feat was achieved, there was no lifting at lineouts, Moi had just come into power at the start of the last run, and I think they still used cow stomachs and insides for balls!
For some time now, Tang Tang has been the most dominant force in Kenyan rugby, having last tasted defeat in the league back in 2022, a stretch of 54 matches, with the current record standing at 54 or 55, depending on who you ask, again from those times of yore! Of those 54 matches, I think there has only been one draw, top of mind, the abandoned game against KCB earlier in the year, and apart from KCB, it has only been the Oilers who have managed to keep Kabras within a three-point loss margin in the league.
Kenya rugby, like sport in general, operates with continuous periods where a team dominates the scene, like KCB before Kabras, Nakuru before them, Quins, and Impala, who tag-teamed through most of the 2000s, Machine, Nondies… but I don’t think we have witnessed such dominance in the fifteens game, at least not one ever written on MS Word. They have not missed a Kenya Cup final since their promotion in 2014, and have won the last five Enterprise Cup titles, they are on for their sixth!
We can go on waxing lyrical about this great Kabras side. Still, you get the gist, back to Saturday, perhaps almost poetic, in front of Kabras will be the only other side to come close to going five on the bounce, KCB, whose run ended in a semi-final loss to the Menengai Oilers.
I don’t think Kabras could have picked a better side to beat at home to become historic and finally bag the bragging rights between the two. These two have been hammer and tongs since Kabras were promoted in the 2014/15 season, and almost caused an upset at the den with a narrow 13-3 loss.
Since then, a lot of water has gone under the bridge. They have had some great bouts, the final that year, that 15-all draw, that match at Impala, the 2018 final at the den, Kabras’ first win at the den, 2019 final, Nandi Bears, the Enterprise cup comeback win in 2024… but 4,021 days since they first met, there has been none bigger than this.
On the pitch this Saturday will be a well-oiled, experienced championship juggernaut that knows how to grind out wins, that last tasted defeat in 2022 on one side, against a hungry, younger, confident side with a point to prove, on the other.
Using the rained-out league fixture earlier in the year, as the blueprint, KCB will need to get a similar start if they are to survive at the forest. In that game, the Lions were quicker off the block and dominated both set piece and territory, putting Kabras on the back foot.
On Kabras’ side, relying on their defence to weather the storm, both figuratively and literally, more importantly, scoring from each of their visits to KCB’s 22 in the first half, HT score 10-10. It didn’t look like Kabras had gone past first gear in that one. What could have happened had the game not been stopped is anyone’s guess…
As always, it might be a rainy affair on Saturday, with better underfoot conditions than those in Nairobi, but we’d all wish for some dry running game, then the rain can fall after this historic game. I am not one to predict but Kabras, at home, with history beconing…I don’t see them losing.
May we have a great spectacle on Saturday, one we will talk about and celebrate for years to come, whichever way it goes… do enjoy it, wherever you will be!
Kwisha… Nimeruka Nje!
