It is Our Time!

Another weekend of early mornings awaits us as the mboys kick off their campaign in Vegas against Canada on Saturday, 3:44 am EAT. Back home, it's closing day as clubs play their final league fixtures as we head into the play offs. The Nationwide and Chairman's leagues are already in the play offs, with the Quarter finals being staged this weekend.

We start in Vegas, first the full schedule of pool fixtures:

Kenya vs Canada (3:44 am)

Kenya vs Uruguay (6:44 am)

Kenya vs SA ( Sunday,12:50 am)

The last pool game will be played on Sunday morning as indicated, with the Quarter finals, Semi finals and Finals played later in the day.

The Mboys after a training session. (Photo courtesy of KRU)

As I had mentioned earlier, it's no easy pool, a second meeting with Canada after having narrowly beaten them 19-7 in Dubai, it will be the first meeting against Uruguay this season, first meetings are always tricky. This is the third time we will be playing South Africa, we have both won once so you can call it a tie breaker of sorts. It will be the fixture I'll be looking forward to, the Khoisans have probably been our toughest opponent this season, even when we beat them, it wasn't as convincing as our other wins. With revenge on their minds it's bound to be a cracker, with top spot in the pool being an added spice to the fight. I see us meeting our favourite opponents again at some point in this one, you know who I mean, those guys in black, now that will be a good one.

In Wellington we were almost faultless, it is this performance that we need to emulate and even better if we are to end our wait for a first cup. One thing I noticed in NZ, is that we used little of our bench,  this however never came up, the players' great conditioning coming into play, seeing them do the whole 14 or at times +20 minutes comfortably. That being so, I'd probably like to see more of the bench come into play, a mind on fresh legs always gives a team  a certain edge over their opponents. The structures in place mean every player knows what their role is on the field thus the possibility of upsetting the balance is minimal.

As Big M said there are very fine margins between the top 8 sides and a slip up here can see us drop into 6^th or 7^th. I am sure he has pointed that out to the mboys several times over, a slight lapse in concentration might make all the difference. Expectations in this one are at an all time high, as we are finally playing to our potential let's take it a game at a time, our biggest match now is the one against Canada. That being said, I don't see why rather how we wont be celebrating the Okombe on Sunday  afternoon. It's not a matter of, “Now I believe”..it's more like “I have always believed!!” and despite what happens here.. “I will always believe!”

Back home, the Nationwide and Chairman's leagues heads into the quarter finals as a fore mentioned, here are those fixtures:

Chairman's League:

Mombasa II vs Comras

Catholic Uni vs Mombasa Poly

JKUAT Voi vs Thika RFC

Daystar vs KEMU Nairobi   

Nationwide League:

Eldoret RFC vs Technical University

Mombasa SC vs Kisii RFC

Masinde Muliro vs Egerton

USIU vs Kakamega II      

The teams named first will host their opponents.

Mombasa II who finished top of the pile in the Chairman's coast edition meet 4^th finishers from the University edition, the Comras. Mombasa II have so far been impressive going through their league fixtures having not tasted defeat, they will be looking to make easy meat of the Comras in their Mombasa backyard. The Comras in their debut season have beaten all odds to make it here, having claimed the scalps of Thika RFC and most recently Nazarene, they will be looking to cause another upset when they travel to the Coast.

Last season's University league runners up Catholic university will host Mombasa Poly. The Monks finished top of the university edition with Mombasa Poly coming in fourth in the Coast edition.

JKUAT Voi, 2^nd place finishers in the Coast edition meet Thika RFC who finished third in the Unis. These two look evenly matched on paper having amassed an equal number of points in the regular season.

Daystar University will play host to KEMU Nairobi, Daystar finishing second in the University league with KEMU finishing third in the Coast edition.

In the Nationwide, fourth place finishers in the East conference TUK travel to Eldoret to meet the western conference leaders in what promises to be a close encounter.

Unbeaten Mombasa SC and leaders of the Eastern conference welcome Kisii RFC who finished fourth in the Western division.

Second place finishers from the west, Masinde Muliro host last season's university league champions and third placed finishers in the east, the Egerton Wasps.

2012 Floodlight University Champions USIU who finished second in the eastern conference see their efforts rewarded with a home quarter final against Kakamega II who finished 3^rd in the western edition. It should be mentioned that Kakamega are in their debut season.

The ESS sees it's final set of regular fixtures played out at the weekend with semi final slots still up for grabs. Only defending champions Quins II are assured of a place in the semis with the 5 teams that follow them all looking to seal the remaining spots. Mwamba II on 35 points are in second with KCB II and Impala II tied on 33 points, Strathmore II are on 31 points with Nakuru II completing the list of hopefuls on 29 points. Unfortunately there wont be any fixture pitting any of the two sides listed above thus it will be down to teams doing their work and hoping results elsewhere favour their progression into the final.

Here are the weekend fixtures:

Kakamega vs Nondies II

Homeboyz II vs Impala II

Machine II vs Mwamba II

Kisumu II vs Strathmore II

Blakblad II vs KCB II

Quins II vs Nakuru II

It will be all about improving on the current ranking when Kakamega currently in 10^th will Nondies II in 7^th at the Kakamega High school. Kakmega have the opportunity to finish in 9^th given that they win here and Blad II lose to KCB II. Nondies on the other hand can only finish in 7^th with 5 points separating them from 6^th and a massive 8 point cushion over 8^th.

Impala II who currently hold the last semi final slot will look to hang on to it when they face Homeboyz II who are in 8^th. The junior Djs have only pride to play for, 7^th position as mentioned earlier is out of their reach thoough they can slip into 9^th in Blad II beat KCB II and they fail to win here. The boks of Impala will know that anything short of a win here will end their club's only hope of silverware this season. If they do lose then they will have to hope that Kisumu II will have beaten Strathmore II and Nakuru II have failed to win at Quins.

Mwamba II currently in second look like they have their semi final slot in the bag, the question that remains is whether it's going to be a home or an away fixture. They meet Machine II who are in 11^th and with a chance of going up to 9^th with a bonus win here. If Mwamba II fail to pick up points here and the rest of the chasing pack do, then they will be out of the semi finals with Strathmore II moving into 4^th on a better aggregate, currently the Catulus are on 139 with Mwamba II on 128. Thus Mwamba II will have to at least get a point here to assure them of progression to the final.

Bottom placed Kisumu II will definitely finish the season in this position even though they are only 5 points behind 11^th. They would have to beat Strathmore II by a whooping 125 points or more and hope  Machine II fail to score against Mwamba II if they are to escape the shackles of last place. Strathmore II on the other hand have more achievable goals, they have to beat Kisumu II with a bonus and hope  that either Impala II or KCB II slip in their fixtures.

KCB II who until a few weeks ago looked like prime candidates for a semi final and a home one at that have now to look over their shoulders. The cubs make the short trip to the blad bin to play Blad II.  The hosts are in 9^th with a possibility of finishing 8^th given that Homeboyz II fail to win at Impala. KCB II will have to win here with a bonus just confirm their progression and probably a have a shot at a home semi. If they do win here with a bonus and Mwamba II fail to do the same at the UoN then the cubs will move back into second. If however they fail to win here and the rest of the chasing pack win their respective fixtures, they will find themselves in 5^th and out of the semi finals bracket.

Quins II are already home and dry, they have the luxury of coming into this fixture against Nakuru II without any pressure at all. The only pressure will be to keep their long unbeaten run going. Nakuru II on the other hand will come into this one with everything crossed as they need a miracle to progress. The junior wanyore will have to win with a bonus here and hope that the rest of the teams ahead of them fail to do so. If that happens then they will finish in third place and play Mwamba II in the semi finals.

Things are a bit clearer in the top flight with the top three sides all assured of a place in the Semi finals, these three Nakuru, Strathmore and KCB will all be fighting for a Home semi final. It is however the battle for the final Semi final spot that will be keenly followed. As it stands Mwamba hold all the cards here, on 35 points with Quins and Nondies on 30 points.

If it does remain like this, Mwamba will travel to Nakuru while KCB will face Strathmore at the cage. An interesting fact is that both those fixtures ended in draws when the teams met during the regular season, can it get any tighter?

6^th placed Nondies travel to Kakamega to face 9^th placed Western Bulls at the Kakamega High School. The bulls will be looking to improve on their log position as they can finish in 8^th provided they win here and Impala fail to beat the Homeboyz. The echulusi have had an impressive debut season in the top flight and will be out to close the season on a high as they plan for the next campaign with the lessons learnt from this one. Nondies who had been written off at some point last year have since put together a run of five wins and are still in with a shout at the Semi final, theirs however is a long shot. The rangers have to win here with a bonus and hope that Quins and Mwamba fail to win and post less than 25 points on the board. On the flip side they could find themselves in 7^th at the close of business. If they fail to win here and Homeboyz win at Impala. However it ends, it's a been a good season for the rangers, a great improvement from the last couple of seasons, that win over Quins has to be the highlight of this one.

7^th placed Homeboyz make the short trip on Ngong road to the Impala club where they face 8^th placed Impala. The Djs who at one point looked like challengers for a semi final spot have since slipped away from the fight and are now looking to finish in 6^th. They however have had quite the season, starting off with heavy losses to Mwamba and KCB before steadying their ship to claim the scalps of Strathmore and Quins. The recent defeat to Nondies has however seen them slip to current position with a chance to finish in 6^th which will be a great return for a solid season. Impala on the other hand have hit their ceiling as far as positions on the log this season goes. They will be hoping to rack up the points in this one to at least narrow the gap between them and the djs which stands at 9 points. It has been a challenging season for the red shirts and it's back to the drawing board for them as they look to improve in the next.

4^th placed Mwamba will be back to the UoN grounds this time to face the Mean Machine who are in 10^th. This fixture has quite the history attached to it, the two being the first black clubs in the country, it's in all rights a derby when they meet. Kulabu come into this one knowing anything short of a win will most probably see their season end at the close of business. The black shirts are on a 3 game winning streak and are yet to lose since the turn of the year. This form has seen them jump into 4^th and  hold the upper hand in the hunt for the final semi final spot. They currently hold a 5 point advantage over Quins and Nondies with a 10 and 25 point advantage in aggregate score respectively. Thus if they fail to win here, the chasing pack will have to better Kulabu's score by their respective margins in order to claim 4^th spot. Machine on the other hand have the opportunity to finish their season in 9^th, if they win here and Western Bulls fail to win at home to Nondies.

Second placed Strathmore who are already assured of a place in the Semi finals will be looking to cement a Home semi when they travel to the lake side to face 11^th placed Kisumu. The Leos have been this season's surprise package, though looking at their trend over the last couple of seasons it will come as no surprise that they are here. A win here will see the XXVII crew earn a home semi final at the cage and depending on the Nakuru result even finish first. The Kondele boys on their part will be looking to finish what has been a disappointing season on a high, they can go no further than 11^th.

Third placed KCB who had led the standings for 5 weeks travel up the super highway to face bottom placed Blakblad. The bankers who have dipped over the last two weeks recording back to back losses to Nakuru and Quins will be looking to make a final push for a home Semi. For that to happen they will have to win here with a bonus and hope one of either Strathmore or Nakuru fail to win their games. The last time KCB played at the Bin close to 10 years ago, they fell to their hosts. That piece of history should act as an encouragement to the students who will be looking to finish a tough season with a smile. This will also be the first time Blad coach Tank will be facing former side KCB, now under  Curtis Olago and Mike Shamiah both of whom he has coached at one time or another during his time at the den. Will the students outwit their teacher?

Lyle Asiligwa of Quins in Action at the Den.

The highlight match of this closing day pits leaders the Menengai Oil Nakuru RFC against defending champions the Lunch Bar Quins who are in fifth. The Wanyore are already safely in the Semi finals coming into this one, they however can finish in third and relinquish a Home semi final spot. Quins on the other hand don't have that luxury, they have to win here and win big if they are to have a chance at defending their title. Even that might not be enough as a win here will depend on the result at the UoN grounds. The Wanyore have so far had a flawless season, having not lost a match this far, they will be out to finish the regular season in that form and ensure that they do play a home semi final. Quins have however been a thorn of sorts to Nakuru, the last time the Wanyore were here they were spanked 32 something if my memory serves me right . Quins will be looking for a repeat result against a side they have not lost to in the league for a while now. The lunch bars will however know that this is not the same Wanyore side that they humiliated here last season, this Nakuru side is hungrier, better and more solid on all fronts. It is bound to be a tight hotly contested affair, with Quins upbeat after their win at KCB and Nakuru out for revenge.       

     

KENYA CUP

Western Bulls vs Nondies

Homeboyz vs Impala

Machine vs Mwamba

Kisumu vs Strathmore

Blakblad vs KCB

Quins vs Nakuru            

My predictions are as follows:

Western Bulls 15-30 Nondies

Homeboyz 22-12 Impala

Machine 10-25 Mwamba

Kisumu 12-60 Strathmore

Blakblad 5-50 KCB

Quins 15-20 Nakuru 

So according to my predictions which come to pass more often than not, the Quarter finals will see Nakuru wface Mwamba at the Suguta valley with KCB facing Strathmore at the Cage. Quins will finish 7^th behind Nondies and Homeboyz, the rest of the log will remain as is. 

With that fair ladies and gents, lets be in good cheer as we support the mboys later on tomorrow do what you have to do to catch those games, anza kukatia neighbour and such like things, ju it looks like NTV never heard our cries...aaannnnddddddd....

KWISHA.....Nimeruka Nje!!!