Kenya rugby championships headed for semis
The road to the Kenya Cup rugby league will intensify as the South Coast town of Ukunda is set to host a big semis playoff match against two-time Kenya Cup champs Mean Machine and South Coast Pirates. Newbie Shamas Foundation has finished the regular season placed second for the right to host Catholic Monks in the other semi in Nairobi.
Winners of both semis will replace relegated Ngong road duo of Nondescripts and Impala Saracens in the 2022/23 Kenya Cup season while last season Championship semifinalist Northern Suburbs and Egerton University failed to rise above the bottom two places to drop to the national league and are set to be replaced this month, former Kenya cup sides Mombasa, Kisii and the unbeaten Sigalagala are among the favourites.
Seasonal finish
Despite the cup finals results, winners of the incoming semis are assured of qualification but seeding for the new season fixtures will rely on their seasonal finish to pair them with this season's Kenya Cup finalists.
Kabras awaits to face the Championship cup runners up in their first fixture of the next season while Menengai Oilers will kick off the new season against the Championship winner to be crowned on March 26.
Former championship side Menengai Oilers last weekend inspired the second-tier league by how the side that back in 2018 got promoted to the Kenya Cup as the Championship runners up behind Mean Machine. Nonetheless, they defied all odds to feature in a final in their fourth season coming after a semi the previous season and a top-six in their second season.
Mean Machine got relegated the very season they got promoted with Oilers to the Kenya cup league in 2019 and has struggled through this season resulting in four losses.
Western Bulls forfeited their playoffs spot to Machine as a result of failing to honour their matchday two fixture against Shamas to get docked two points that were enough to give the side fourth place.
Bulls have only lost thrice to finish the season with 33 points, two below Mean Machine and had they honoured the second round fixture or given a walkover to Shamas in advance then their seasonal win against Machine was to be the main factor to determine them as the rightful playoffs slot owner.
The two immediate former sides Western Bulls and Kisumu met in a tensed round 11 match won by Echulusi to give them fifth place while Kisumu finished ninth with 18 points.
The machine is now scheduled to travel to Seacrest grounds to play the standings commander who in February bullied the blue striped side with a 20-18 beating and will be the favourites in the main highlight clash while in Nairobi Shamas play Monks, one of the two only sides to beat them this season.
