Sports

Kenya’s oldest Rugby title returns

Thursday, March 17th, 2022 00:30 | By
KCB front rower Moses Amusala (left) fends off Joseph Odero of Kabras Sugar during a Kenya Cup match at Impala Club last season. PD/ALEX NJUE

Enterprise Cup defending champions Kabras Sugar will be hoping to succesfully retain their title when they begin their title defense on Saturday with a match against  Mean Machine.

Last edition’s runners up Impala will on the other hand be meeting Menengai Oilers at the Impala grounds.

After failing to take place in the last two years owing to the Covid 19 pandemic disruptions, Enterprise Cup, which is Kenya’s oldest Rugby competition will feature nine Kenya cup sides when the knockouts start with a round of 16 this Saturday.

Six fixtures will be played in Nairobi while Kakamega and Nakuru will host a fixture each in honor of the 92-year-old competition that had the first cup donated by HMS Enterprise sailors in 1928. This year’s event will give the rugby enthusiasts three weeks of fifteens aside, an action expected to end on April  9th. 

Among the confirmed matches, Ngong road will be a busy place with two matches played on pitches separated by a chainlink fence. On one side at the Impala Club the Sarries will play Oilers while at Rugby Football Union of East Africa (RFUEA) grounds, a Ngong road derby pitting Homeboyz and Quins will be unleashed.

Nakuru City will host a single fixture to renew rivalry between Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) and Nakuru TopFry Club after the students claimed first scalp against Wanyore in a Kenya Cup league match (13-8) at the same grounds last month.

Another thriller will be staged by KCB against  Strathmore Leos at the KCB Sports Club. Last weekend the Leos lost to the Bankers by 52-22 to finish fourth in the Kenya cup league after the hosts claimed the third position. Strathmore earned three sin bins in that match to throw away a 19-7 lead to end up trailing the hosts 35-19 at half time and eventually lost by a clear 30 points gap.

Meanwhile, Mwamba Cup round of 16 is also set to kick off this Saturday with exciting fixtures that will feature the second teams in the Kenya Cup side, championships and nationwide teams. Despite the competitiveness of the league, the just ended Kenya Cup title rivalry will be spewed over to the Mwamba Cup where the second side of Kabras is set to kick off campaign against  Menengai Oilers II at the ASK Show grounds.

Other tough matches to watch out for this weekend will include three Nairobi bound fixtures that will have Kenya Harlequins II take on Administration Police at RFUEA grounds, Strathmore II will host Nondescripts II at the Cage in Madaraka, Impala II will play Kiambu as Homeboyz II play United States International University (USIU) Martials.

The Mwamba Cup will run concurrently with Enterprise Cup and will also end next month. In the eight fixtures scheduled for this weekend, about half of them are confirmed to go on as planned.  

More on Sports


ADVERTISEMENT

RECOMMENDED STORIES Sports


ADVERTISEMENT