The Cup Weekend in Review..

What a weekend of rugby, a few surprises here and there and an upset many did not see coming. So lets get to it…

Kuja Hapa wewe..mmh!!!

The mboys managed to reach the shield final in Port Elizabeth, thus ending the first leg of the series with 5 points earning us a spot at position 14. Here are the day two results for those who did not have them :

1/4 Final Bowl Kenya 7 - 26 Scotland.

Semi Final Shield Kenya 17- 12 Portugal.

Final Shield Kenya 12 - 19 Zimbabwe 

We are all in agreement that the mboys should improve and that they have not yet fulfilled their potential. To get there in my opinion, we need to work on our defence we had started out pretty well in this area but as we progressed, we got weaker. Another area that needs looking at is our breakdowns, rucks especially. We tend to commit too many bodies in rucks and don’t react quickly enough off them, I believe that I have mentioned this here before. Away from the mboys, to us the fans/supporters (yes there is a difference) we need to be behind this team now more than ever. If you are not with us then you are definitely against us! Hii mambo ya eti “Sa afadhali Harambee stars!” just makes you look stupid, go watch harambee stars by all means then. Any talk of us being demoted as a core team is really premature, we have only played three legs, I don't think the I.R.B is as quick to react as most Gor fans are.. 

Through the three legs played so far, we have played the five top teams. We have brushed off the new boys tag and the stage fright that comes with it. When we go to NZ come feb I expect a whole new feel to the team, a more confident and a far more effective outfit. Oh by the way, here is our pool in Feb.

France.

Australia.

Canada.

Kenya.

Ken Moseti.

Before I go on, a special mention to my overall player of the three legs, (drum rolls) Kennedy Isaiah Moseti, this one played every game with his head high, even when we were being destroyed he still popped up with a run every other time, jinking through the defenders’ armpits never giving up. This kijana should have a designated runner, a guy who understands him and runs off his shoulder, we have seen that he can create tries from his rather large finger tips. Finally a question, why have a vice captain who is always on the bench, even when the Captain is injured? How is he supposed to lead from there? or is he also injured?

First a loud cheer here for the fifteens team…WABEEEEE!!!! First hurdle done, beating Brazil was just the start leo tena hivyo hivyo! For those who did not know, we beat Brazil 27-25 on Saturday. Due to the technical issues Supersport 7 had, I couldn’t watch that match so I don’t have that much detail. A quick observation out of the blue..why doesn’t rugby have radio commenatary? “Anabomolewa Stool pale..pigwa sidestep ya maudhi anawachwa akidaka dede!” It would be something wouldn't it? Back  to today, we take on Hong Kong (5:00 pm Kenya time) lets hope the signals behave this time, Hong Kong walloped the U.A.E 72-5 so it's going to be a tough one. Another victory today will put us in a very strong position to win this cup, with Brazil already out of the way. Here is the t.v schedule for the Kenya games, we only have U.A.E left after this so here..

13th December :

5.00pm Hong Kong vs Kenya SS7 (Repeat on SS1 Dec. 14th 3.20 am)

7.00 pm UAE vs Barzil SS7.

16th December :

2.00 pm U.A.E vs Kenya SS7 (Repeat 18th Dec. 12.50 am)

4.00pm Hong Kong vs Brazil 

In Kenya time Courtesy of K.R.F.U

All the best to the men…tuko pamoja maguys!!

Kenya Cup match day three will go down to me as a weekend when reality hit home that hii game ni hard! Before I go on here are the results..

Quins 5 - 12 Homeboyz.

Kisumu 32 - 5 Machine.

Impala 22 - 12 Nondies.

Mwamba 18 - 15 Nakuru.

K.C.B 14 - 10 Strathmore.

Many are still shocked with the Quins result, not me well not as overly surprised as most of you are, it’s not like I did not tell you (Ok I didn’t!).My shock result is Kisumu Machine, though I hear not all the students traveled but still that is no excuse. Back to Quins, this one saw the two teams that won their respective leagues unbeaten meet up, something had to give. Unfortunately or not Quins gave, yes there was a red card issued but by then the score was 5-0 to Homeboyz. This should send out a signal of intent from the DJs that they do mean business. In other results Strath went down to KCB in what was a close encounter, the XXVII crew are still on top of the log, for how long is any one’s guess. Mwamba narrowly edged out Nakuru in the other match.

To my feature match at the Impala grounds, Imapala vs Nondies, this was a cagey affair with no one really stamping their authority through the match.'Us guys of Nondies' drew first blood with an early unconverted try, Impala replied late in the first half with a converted one from ‘Waves’ Wefwafwa,and  before Nondies could regroup they found themselves 12-5 down as the half came to a close. The second half started just as the first with Nondies piling the pressure, Odipo with a couple of big hits. Impala doing well to soak in the pressure then slowly turning the tide on their visitors scoring a penalty from a Nondies infringment inside their 40 yard line. Nondies continued probing and were rewarded for their pressure, Odipo grounding  a succesfully converted try in the last 15 minutes. This set up a tense finale, but you could see that Nondies were wasted, a fact that substitute Nato Simiyu took full advantage of to score inbetween the posts after some smart running from his backs, 22-12 it ended here. My man of the match was Nondies Captain one Ben Nyambu, sharp on the tackle, great on the break down though he did fade away in the last minutes. He narrowly peaks the Impala number 6, what’s his name again, the dude who dyed the back of his hair during BRSS, he played for the Sharks…yes that one. Also worth mentioning are Jere the Nondies scrum half and Kiki (I hope I have that right!) the Impala no. 10.

With that you fair ladies and gents…remember ‘Hata kama kunguni ni mmoja usilalie kitanda chake…’

KWISHA!!!

The festive season is here with us (yes it’s not too early), please make sure Seat-belts, Helmets and Condoms are used for their respective purposes and on their respective heads. Especially if the vehicle you are using is not yours…