The Good friday and NaxVegas Preview.

The long rugby weekend is finally here, the one weekend in Kenya where rugby moves to Nakuru and takes half of Nairobi with it, literally. Before we take a closer look at the tournament, there will be a few Kenya cup and E.S.S fixtures slatted for Good Friday. These are the fixtures that were to take place on game day 1 but did not take place for obvious reasons, the fixtures are as follows:

KENYA CUP
KCB vs Machine (Lion’s Den Ruaraka)
Impala vs HomeBoyz (Impala Grounds)
Nondies vs Nakuru (Jamuhuri Grounds)
Quins vs Kisumu (RFUEA)

ESS
KCB II vs Machine II
Impala II vs HomeBoyz II
Nondies II vs Nakuru II
Quins II vs Western Bulls

Let’s start at the Lion’s Den where third placed KCB will be hosting Machine who are eighth. The last time these two met, the lions edged out a spirited Eschuma 29-20. Both sides come into this one off the back of impressive wins, more so Machine. KCB resoundingly beat Kisumu 40-16 while Machine saw off Kulabu 26-17, both sides will be looking to build on these victories when they meet. The lions will be out to pounce on any slip ups by Nakuru and leap frog them into second. Machine, on the other hand have a chance to close the gap on 7th with a win here.

After the derby loss, Impala have a chance to get back to winning ways when they host Homeboyz. Both sides come into this one looking to redeem themselves from previous losses, as mentioned earlier Impala lost to Quins while Homeboyz tested defeat at thika road against Nakuru. The last time these two met in February Impala beat the djs 30-15. Impala will be looking to complete the double and brush off any threats they were facing for 6th.Meanwhile the djs will be out to return to the form that saw them win 3 in three before the wanyore game and with this possibly move one up to eighth depending on the Machine game. It looks like it will be a finely poised match, Homeboyz have proved to be a tough nut to crack in previous meetings between the two and thus they will fancy their chances of getting one over the red shirts.

Second placed Menengai oil Nakuru Rfc travel to Nairobi to face the Total Kenya Nondies at the Jamuhuri grounds. The white shirts are placed seventh on the log before this game, two points behind sixth and will be looking to win this one and capitalize on any slip ups to jump into sixth. This however will not be a simple task as they come up against a wanyore side that still have the title in sight and know that anything other than a win will all but see their hopes disappear in the thin air.The last time these two met in Nakuru, the wanyore oilers were 14-5 victors, in the same way I expect this one to be as tight.
   
League leaders Quins will entertain bottom placed Kisumu at the RFUEA in the other Good Friday fixture. The lunch bars stretched their lead at the top of the table last weekend to 5 points with the win over Impala and will be looking to gather maximum points here as they look to defend their title with two games to go (this one included). Kisumu travel to the capital off that drubbing I had mentioned earlier at the hands of KCB, the kondele boys will know that this game won’t be any easier but will be looking to make it different. The last time these two met in Kisumu, Quins were 20-6 winners, the odds will be heavily stacked against the kondele boys, but again the rugby ball has a very unpredictable bounce.

If I do make it to the RFUEA it will be for the ESS title decider between the unbeaten Quins II and second placed Western Bulls. The junior lunch bars are 3 points clear of their visitors and victory here will hand them the ESS title. The western bulls who have a had a very impressive season will be out to be the first side to beat Quins II and with that take the title race to the last game of the season. The last time these two sides met in Kakamega, Quins II edged out their hosts 17-15, expect the bulls to come into this one seeking revenge for that narrow loss. Coming into this one, both sides will be high on morale from last weekend’s games. Quins II convincingly beat bitter rivals Impala II 39-19 while the bulls saw off third placed KCB cubs 31-24 in a closely fought out encounter in Kakamega. This match will definitely steal the lime light from the Kenya cup game, and maybe it should even be played after it…hehehe!

To what y’all have been looking forward to all this time…The 22nd edition of the Great rift ten a side now known as the Menengai Oil Great rift 10-A-Side. For those who have not been on this planet, it takes place this Easter weekend from the 7th to the 8th. Here are the pools once again.

 Pool A:                           Pool B:
Nakuru                           Strathmore      
Machine                          Mwamba             
Nondies                          KCA                     
Leons De Fer                  Eldoret                   

Pool C :                            Pool D :
Quins                                Homeboyz 
KCB                                 Impala
Blak Blad                          Western Bulls
Egerton                              USIU


Something that I had not noticed is that Kisumu will not be taking part in the tournament, I find that odd but I guess they have valid reasons not to take part. As I mentioned in Monday’s post, my favorites for this one are Strathmore and Mwamba in that order. First, both have won the trophy in the last two editions, though shared and two unlike their biggest rivals namely Nakuru, KCB, Quins and Impala they do not have the distraction of the Friday match. The Friday matches will have a great bearing on the teams, first on team selection, every team has something to fight for in the Kenya cup and will surely not go to Nakuru just to make up the numbers, the selection will be a major headache as all the fixtures will be double headers i.e Kenya Cup and ESS. This one I feel will come down to depths of the squads, secondly is the travel arrangements, since the tournament kicks off at 9:00 am, do the teams travel immediately after the games or early morning, I know Nakuru is just two hours away but the players will feel the road lag. Also watch out for Nondies, they look like the forgotten team here and they do have a squad that can challenge anyone on their day. As for Machine, Homeboyz and Western Bulls I think the toll of playing consecutively for three days will catch up with them, but don’t take my word for it! Finally I hope the organizers have put up floodlights..hii mambo ya kushare trophy hai make it!

With that ladies and gentlemen don’t forget to toklezea in your pirate costumes as I hear the best costume on the day wins a crate of booze or is it a case of Menengai oil? I don’t remember but you’ll definitely win something!

For those of us who will not be in Nakuru, let’s start looking for Radio Maisha’s frequency, as they will be having live commentary of the games, not sure if it will be for all the games but it’s better than nothing. Besides I can’t wait to listen to a rugby match live on radio…and kwanza in Swahili “Anapigwa side stepu pale na kuwachwa akidaka dede mwenzake akisanzuka hadi kwenye eneo la jaribio” hehehe or join me on twitter (@poghie_esquire) for updates.  

Wherever the Easter festivities take you, do have fun, be safe and let’s meet here and compare notes on Tuesday…
As for me, I’ll be spending my rare Saturday away from Rugby enjoying quality time with the fam…

Be blessed y’all aaannnddddd…

KWISHA!!!!!