Closing Day Preview.

It has been 17 weeks of action packed rugby and as we head into the final game week, I think you will be in agreement when I say that it has been one hell of a ride! I am already looking forward to next season..

Quins II wrapped up the E.S.S title on Good Friday with that 27-5 win over the Western Bulls, they are now 8 points clear of the Bulls with only one game to play. Congratulations to the junior lunch bars on winning the Eric Shirley Shield, they are still unbeaten as they head into the season’s final fixture. In the Nation Wide league Blak Blad will be facing Mombasa RFC in the final at the RFUEA next weekend. The University league’s second leg semi finals will be played at the weekend, here are the fixtures from the those leagues :

University League :
Multimedia vs Blak Blad II
Catholic Uni vs Egerton
NationWide League:
BlakBlad vs Mombasa RFC (21st April)

ESS:
Nondies II vs Wstern Bulls
Mwamba II vs Homeboyz II
Impala II vs Machine II
Nakuru II vs Strathmore II
KCB II vs Quins II

The first leg of the University league semi finals were pretty tight affairs, Multimedia edging out the Machetes (Blad II) 7-3 while Egerton played out a 3-0 victory over CUEA. Expect this weekend’s deciders to be just as competitive. Blad II will look to draw inspiration from their first team’s performance in Nakuru and overturn the 4 point deficit they carry into the game to make it to the finals, slated for the 21st of this month at the RFUEA. This game will be played at JKUAT. The other semi final will also be an all to play for with 3 points being the difference between CUEA and Egerton.

In the ESS, the champions in waiting will have the small matter of ensuring that they finish the season unbeaten when they visit the Lion’s den. It is not going to be a simple task that one as the cubs are a tough act at home.

To the big boys, where there was an interesting development yesterday. The union released the new Kenya cup standings after the deadline that had been set to honor the boycotted fixtures expired. The new look table looks like this, Quins still lead with 58 points, KCB are second on 56, Nakuru 3 points adrift at 53, Strathmore 50, Mwamba 44, Impala 34, Nondies 32, Homeboyz 32, Machine 30 and finally Kisumu on 18 points. The affected clubs, Quins, Nakuru, Impala and Nondies have all been deducted 2 points, this for Nakuru means that their dreams of winning the Kenya cup will have to wait till next season. The beneficiaries Kisumu and Homeboyz both get 5 points, the djs get their points courtesy of Impala, Kisumu of course get theirs off Quins. This new look obviously brings with it new scenarios, the Kenya cup title will be decided between Quins and KCB, Strathmore and Nakuru will battle for third, while the mid table battle will be between Impala, Nondies, Homeboyz and Machine the difference between 6th and 9th being 4 points. To the fixtures:

Nondies vs Kisumu
Mwamba vs Homeboyz
Impala vs Machine
Nakuru vs Strathmore
KCB vs Quins

The Total Kenya Nondies will be playing host to Kisumu rfc at the Jamuhuri grounds. Both sides did not take part at the great rift 10’s and will have benefited from the rest thus will be raring to have a go at each other. The last encounter between the two ended in a 28-25 win for Kisumu, it is this result that Nondies will be looking to over turn. The white shirts are 7th, and will move to 6th if they manage to win here and Impala fail to do the same. Kisumu on the other hand will fancy their chances of a repeat result and add to their points tally as they come to the end of their debut season.

Mwamba RFC will be hosting the Homeboyz at a venue to be confirmed later. Kulabu will be looking to end a campaign that had showed so much promise on a high. To do this they have to see off the Homeboyz, another side that had a great start to the season but quickly faded away. The last time these two met, the black shirts were 41-9 winners. The Djs will be out for revenge when they meet and with the prospect of finishing 6th, expect them to come out all speakers blazing. Kulabu will definitely finish fourth, but be sure that they will be looking to do their part with a win here.

Impala who have had a dismal season by their standards will be hosting Mean Machine at the Impala grounds for their final fixture of the season. Impala saw themselves sink to new lows over this season and have already started turning the corner though slowly, the red shirts come into this one off the derby defeat at Quins. They will be looking to get back into winning ways and secure 6th spot when they face the Eshuma. Machine on the other hand come into this one fresh from the 32-7 drubbing by KCB and will be looking to erase that memory with a win here against a side they previously beat 26-20 in the corresponding fixture at the UoN grounds. If they do manage to repeat that result and results elsewhere go their way, they would finish tied on points with Impala at 6th, which will be a great return for the Mean Machine.

The students from the good university travel back to Nakuru to face the Wanyore in a replay of last weekend’s Great rift final. Encounters between the two this season have been close, the last time they met in Nairobi, Strathmore were 19-18 winners. As you are well aware, Nakuru are unbeaten at home this season..in the league and will be out to keep end the season this way. The Leos will be buoyed by the fact that they managed to beat the Wanyore at Nakuru last weekend infront of a bigger crowd than is expected at the NAC this Saturday. Nakuru will feel short changed with the union’s decision but they should not let it get to them as they go into this match. As I have mentioned these two find themselves locked in a battle for third and with 3 points separating them it will be a real crunch tie. If Strathmore manage to win here with a victory margin of more than two points then they will finish the season 3rd.

To my feature match, the title decider at the Lion’s Den Ruaraka for the return fixture between second placed KCB and league leaders the Lunch Bar Quins. Before Thursday, KCB were out of contention for the Kenya cup title, with their role being that of King Maker in this fixture. Fast forward to now, they have been given a life line and are now back in the thick of things with this game turning into a cup final. Coming into this fixture, KCB are still unbeaten at home and will be looking to end the season with that record still intact and hopefully the Kenya Cup to show for their troubles. 2 points is the difference between the two after KCB won their game in hand on Good Friday and Quins deducted two for not honoring the Kisumu fixture. The lunch bars come into this one after completing the double over arch rivals Impala a fort night ago and will be looking to complete another double here and walk away with the title. The last time these two met Quins took the spoils 22-15, in a match that the Lions were guilty of failing to convert possession into points. This fixture has always been a tight affair as the two have been dominating 15’s rugby in the country for a while now. A KCB win will definitely ensure that the Kenya cup finds its way back to the Lion’s den trophy cabinet after a 3 year absence. A Quins victory on the other hand will see the quarterd shirts make the short trip back to Ngong Road having successfully defended their title. It’s really as simple as that…

After this attention will shift to the National team as they seek to defend the Elgon Cup for the umpteenth time, the first leg will be on 21st April in Kampala with the second here in Nairobi on the 28th.

Finally, still on National teams, the Kenyan Ladies team is just 3 games away from a spot in the Ladies World Cup, the three games are two against Uganda in the Elgon Cup then one versus South Africa. The first two games are not such a challenge as we have been beating the Nyabos at every occasion and we should continue with that run this year, it’s the clash against the S.A ladies that will be tough.

All the best to the warembo…

With that Ladies and Gentlemen……….

KWISHA!!!!