The BRSS & Chairman's Cup Match Day 3 Preview..It's Crunch Time!

The BRSS and Chairman’s Cup competitions will play out their final pool matches this weekend with several mouth watering clashes lined up. But first the Shujaa, the Kenya sevens second side, yes Kenya’s second sevens side is called the Shujaa and not the first team, now you know! The Shujaa will be in Roma this weekend. We have sent a pretty strong squad with several faces from the Glasgow and London legs making the trip to London, here is the squad that will be doing duty in Roma.

Biko Adema, Joseph Oriwo, William Ambaka, Michael Matayo, Patrice Agunda, Horace Owiti, Felix Ayange, Michael Agevi, Oscar Ayodi, Kevin Keegan, Robert Aringo, Dan Sikuta, Billy Odhiambo, Dennis Ombachi

Seven of the 14 were in the last two legs of the HSBC circuit and will be the core of this exciting side with the likes of Ombachi, Sikuta, Keegan and Ayodi adding to the flair of the side. I don’t have the match schedules but a host of great teams have been invited in this year’s tourney. The likes of the France 7, Argentina 7 and a team from the pacific that includes players from Fiji and Samoa there will also be the Roma seven invitation that will include players from NZ, Australia and the USA (interesting combi. what is the US doing there? hehe). As always Roma is a great platform for exposing our new players to the international game, I expect this time to be no different.

The Chairman’s Cup enters its match day 3 on Saturday, it’s final round of pool matches. Several great encounters are lined up..here are the collated fixtures:

Pool A

Kenya Polytechnic Vs Impala (11:00 am, Impala grounds)

Homeboyz vs KCB (UoN grounds,09:30 am)

Pool B

Thika RFC vs BlakBlad (Thika High, 11:00 am)

Quins vs Strathmore (12:30 pm, Impala grounds)

Pool C

Catholic vs Oryx

Mwamba vs Chipu (12:30 pm, UoN)   

Pool D

Multimedia vs Nondies (Catholic Uni, 12:30 pm)

Machine vs Nakuru (11:00 am, Uon grounds)

In Pool A, top side Impala will cement their place at the top when they entertain Kenya Poly at the Impala grounds, but the highlight of this pool will be the crunch tie between Homeboyz and KCB. The two have had a fierce yet young rivalry since Homeboyz was formed a few years back. This time round their rivalry sees them meet in the Chair man's cup to potentially determine who goes to the plate semi and who drops to the bowl, unless Kenya Poly pull a Chelsea and beat Impala. The two are tied on 6 points and also have the same aggregate point tally of 21, those who will make it to the UoN grounds by 9:30 am will surely not regret having cut short their Saturday sleep time.

In Pool B bottom side Blak Blad will face Thika RFC who are third based on their better points tally. Both sides are yet to record points on the log and will be looking to change that fact. Quite surprising though Blak blad are just from a scintillating season which included a great display at the Nakuru 10s then this?

The other Match in Pool B sees top side Strathmore squaring it out with the Lunch Bar quins. Strathmore are a point ahead of their opponents and will be looking to win this in order to book a spot in the semi final. Quins on the other hand will have the same target though they are on the other hand..hehe.

In Pool C the two bottom sides in Catholic and Oryx will be looking to win their first match after both losing heavily to Mwamba and Chipu and secure progression to the Bowl semi.

The other match will obviously pit the two top teams in Mwamba and Chipu, the two are on 10 points with Chipu taking pole due to their better points aggregate(5). This match at the UoN will be another cracker.

In Pool D Nondies will be facing Multimedia University at the Catholic University grounds. Both sides are without points in this year’s competition and will be looking to get record their first wins.

The highlight of this pool will be the match between leaders Nakuru and second placed Machine, the two are separated by a single point, Nakuru on 10 and Machine on 9. This match will be the second in a trilogy of crackers to be played at the UoN grounds. Nakuru don’t have such a good record at the UoN and it is this record they will be looking to put away, the wanyore have been in blistering form scoring a total of 150 points in their two matches played at the NAC. Machine who beat Nondies at the Jamuhuri grounds last weekend will be looking to carry on with their title of Nakuru’s boogey team. Can Nakuru finally beat the jinx?

In the BRSS the qualifiers from Pool A are well decided, it is in Pool B where things are yet to be decided thus making for an interesting weekend of top flight rugby. Here are the fixtures:

Pool A

Sharks vs Coastal Bulls (Jamuhuri grounds, K.O 2pm, Live on DSTV)

Lions vs Cheetahs (Jamuhuri grounds, K.O 4pm, Live on DSTV)

Pool B

Rwenzori vs Victoria (Kyadondo Rugby Club, K.O 4:30, Live on DSTV)

Rhinos vs Buffaloes (Nakuru Athletic Club, K.O 4pm)

The Pool A match between the Sharks and the Bulls will just be a matter of pride, both sides are already out of the competition as is but will be looking for their first wins in this year’s edition, first ever win in the Bulls case. This should be an interesting match depending on which side the Sharks pick, if they do under estimate the Bulls then it’s going to be a long day for the ‘big’ fish. The last time these two met the Sharks were 22-0 winners but that was Last year..

The other game in the pool sees the two semi finalists the Cheetahs and the Lions clash in the battle of the big cats..The Lions are ahead on aggregate score as both sides will be looking to finish top of the pool for them to get a favorable tie at the semi final on paper, key word(s) being on paper.

In Pool B, first the standings, the Rwenzori are on 9 points, Rhinos on 6 and Victoria on 4.

The Buffaloes will be playing the defending champions Rhinos at the NAC, still looking for their first victory in the Bamburi rugby super series. The Rhinos will know that anything short of a win here will place them at the risk of not qualifying for the semi final for the first time in a while, if not ever. Though they can still go through with a loss here depending on results from Uganda, I don’t think that they’d like to sit and cross their fingers for a whole 30 minutes after their game to get the Kampala result.

The highlight of this pool will be the Ugandan derby between the Rwenzori and the Victoria, the last time these two met last year, the Rwenzori won 11-8 to book a berth in the semis. They will be looking to cement this dominance over their much fancied opponents and make it to their second semi in a row. The Victoria on the other hand will be looking to confirm their favourites tag and not just on paper, while seeking revenge for that loss last year. This for me will be the match of the weekend though I won’t watch it live I’ll definitely catch a rerun.
If the Victoria manage to win here and both sides fail to pick up a bonus point and Rhinos match that result then the Rhinos will qualify as pool winners with the Rwenzori. With a difference of 41 points between the Rwenzori and the Victoria in the points aggregate column the Victoria will need a big score in this match. If the Rwenzori win here they will qualify top of pool B with Rhinos as the runners up regardless of the result in Nakuru. If this happens then the Rhinos will meet the winner of the Cheetahs vs Lions game now you see where the 'favourable tie on paper' statement came from? 

In other news the Saint Mary’s Black Rock rugby tournament will also take place on Saturday..GO MACHINE!! I hope that I’ll be telling you of how they won it on Monday..hehe

Still on school’s rugby, the Prescott cup kicked off this week..the only result that matters really is this one The Nairobi School 14-0 Kiambu..the rest are just details to be honest. Anyway here they are:

Strathmore 0-10 RVA.

St Mary's 5-0 MFA.

Alliance were to play Lenana on Thursday but who cares…Nairobi School won hehe!

Finally, I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of a mnyore especially this one @kenyanrugbygal, not like I wear ladies' shoes or anything..the wanyore fans are torn between remaining in Nakuru and watch the Rhinos play the Buffaloes in the BRSS or travel to Nairobi to watch the Chairman's cup tie against machine...good luck with that guys. 

Students at the Nairobi university will be treated to an early feats of great rugby..what with KCB playing Homeboyz at 9:30 followed by Machine vs Nakuru then Mwamba vs Chipu..what a way to start a Saturday right? Then the same guy will have time to get to the Jamuhuri grounds to watch the Lions take on the Cheetahs...I envy you whoever you are... 

With that Ladies and Gentlemen have a great Rugby weekend and let’s compare notes on Monday or Tuesday aaaannnnnnddd……..

KWISHA...Nimeruka Nje!!!!!!