Nondies Host Homeboyz in Match Day 3 Action

Big scores characterised the opening weekend of the 2013/14 fifteens season, with the second round of matches offering a bit of more respectable scores especially in the top flight. It's anyone's guess what the match day 3 has in store for us.

The would be highlight of the weekend's fixture, the Ngong road derby was unfortunately postponed at the request of Quins. Despite that, there are 6 other mouth watering clashes in the top flight, 7 in the ESS and 23 matches in the Nationwide to sample from.

Action from a previous match between Nondies and Homeboyz (photo - Nondies)

After back to back wins against KCA and Catholic, Impala III will face TUK in the highlight match of Nairobi region. After marking their debut last week with a 80-0 thumping of MKU Kisumu, new boys Kabras will be looking to keep the momentum going in the Western region when they face Maseno University.

The Rift valley region will see leaders Kericho take on Eldoret who are fresh from a rest weekend. Masaku will be taking on TUM in the Coastal region as Thika take on JKUAT in the central region.

Eric Shirley Shield

After seeing their impressive unbeaten run in the ESS come to an end at Kakamega, the Arturos of Quins will be looking to get back to winning ways against their fierce rivals the Boks of Impala. Both sides have managed one win out of the two matches played so far and with the Boks beating Nondies II last weekend.

Action from last season (Photo - Chris Kibe)

The cubs of KCB will be travelling to Kakamega to face Western Bulls II, who will definitely be high on confidence after te win last weekend. Mwamba II will be hosting Machine II at the Nairobi Railways club looking to record win number 3. Early league leaders Catulus will be hosting Kisumu II at the cage, with Mombasa II taking on Eldoret II at the coast. Nakuru II will play host to Blad II at the NAC.

Kenya Cup

There will be six fixtures on the cards in the top flight as earlier mentioned, currently 3 sides are tied on 10 points at the top of the log, with 6 sides yet to register points, it will be all to play for as the league starts to take shape.

Nakuru vs Blak Blad (4:00 PM, NAC)

Early league leaders and defending champions, Top Fry Nakuru will be hosting Blak Blad at the NAC. Nakuru have managed to score 182 points from the two matches played, they will be looking to keep this blistering form going at the weekend.

Blad on the other hand have only scored 5 points, conceding 52. The students will have their work cut out for them, though they will be upbeat having held Strathmore to a 20-5 score line. Last time these two met, the Wanyore were 36-11 winners.

Strathmore Leos vs Kisumu (4:00 PM, Madaraka)

The Strathmore Leos only trail Nakuru by point difference, the Leos will be hosting Kisumu at the Madaraka grounds. Strathmore have managed to score 135 points but more impressively only conceding 8 points, they will be looking to keep the pressure on the leaders early on.

Kisumu will be travelling to the capital off a 3-43 loss to Mwamba. Last season in the reverse fixture, Kisumu stretched the Leos at the Kisumu Poly grounds though eventually losing 15-30, the Kondele boys will be looking for better that performance at the cage.

Mwamba vs Mean Machine (4:00 PM, Nairobi Railway Club)

Mwamba, third on the log will be hosting Mean Machine at the Nairobi Railway club, as they look to keep up with the leading pack. The black shirts have been impressive so far, confidently seeing off Blad 32-0 on match day 1 then dismissing Kisumu 43-3. Kulabu are yet to concede a try in the 160 minutes played and will be looking to keep that run going when they welcome Machine.

Action from last season (Photo - Kulabu)

Mean Machine are yet to win a match but will be buoyed by last weekend's narrow 3-17 loss against KCB. The Eschuma managed to disrupt the bankers play especially in the forwards and will be looking to do the same against Mwamba as they chase their first four pointer this season. Last time the two met, Mwamba were 44-10 winners on the last day of league action.

Western Bulls vs KCB (4:00 PM, Kakamega High School)

After a slow start to the campaign, KCB will travel to Kakamega to face the Western Bulls. The Lions will be looking to an improved performance against the Echulusi, in that match against Machine the green shirts looked disorganised. A repeat of the same will most likely condemn the bankers to their first defeat. The Bulls are yet to win, having only played a single match, against Nondies, that one earning them a losing bonus after a 18-24 loss.

They will be looking to start their campaign at home on  a high when they face KCB, a side that beat them 46-11 last season in Nairobi.

Mombasa vs Eldoret (4:00 PM, Mombasa Sports Club)

The two freshly promoted sides, Mombasa and Eldoret will face each other at the Mombasa Sports Club in a match that could go a long way in shaping the relegation battle.

The two sides were on the receiving end of big scores on match day one, with Mombasa soaking up 112 points against Nakuru, Eldoret having to take in 115 at the cage in Madaraka. Mombasa losing 6-58 to Homeboyz on match day 2 with Eldoret giving the champions an early scare before eventually accepting a 24-70 loss.

Eldoret will probably be the more motivated of the two sides, with Mombasa set to get their edge from the home support. It is bound to be a tight encounter and a true dog fight at the coast as they look to record their first win. It will be the first meeting between the two in the recent past having managed to avoid each other in last season's Nationwide league.

Nondescripts vs Homeboyz (4:00 PM, Jamuhuri grounds)

With the postponement of the Ngong road derby, another edition of the same takes the spotlight, as Nondies host Homeboyz at the Red Lion. Nondies lie fourth on the log on 9 points after opening back to back wins against Western Bulls and Impala. The white shirts will be gunning for their third win on the trot and in turn keep up with the leading pack.

(Photo - Nondescripts)

Homeboyz opened their campaign with a commanding 58-6 win over Mombasa at the same grounds last weekend. They will be back hoping for another win as they look to build up the momentum. The Djs will however know that this will be a much tougher challenge than they had last week especially at the forwards.

The last time these two met the hosts were 44-26 winners, this one is expected to be a tighter contest with the Homeboyz expected to give a better account of themselves.

Match Day 3 Fixtures

Eric Shirley Shield

Mombasa II vsEldoret II (2pm Mombasa Sports Club)

Nakuru II vs Blak Blad II (2 pm Nakuru Athletic Club)

Strathmore vs Kisumu (2pm Starthmore Madaraka)

Mwamba II vs Machine II (2pm Nairobi Railway club)

W.Bulls vs KCB (2pm Kakamega High School)

Quins II vs Impala II (4pm RFUEA)

Nondies II vs Homeboyz II (2pm Jamhuri Park)

Kenya Cup

Mombasa vs Eldoret (4pm Mombasa Sports Club)

Nakuru vs Blak Blad (4pm Nakuru Athletic Club)

Strathmore vs Kisumu (4pm Stathmore Madaraka)

Mwamba vs Machine (4pm Nairobi Railway Club)

W.Bulls vs KCB (4pm Kakamega High School)

Quins vs Impala (Postponed)

Nondies vs Homeboyz (4pm Jamhuri Park)

KENYA XVs

The Kenya lions got off to a losing start at the Windhoek Draught Tri Nations, going down 29-14 to Zimbabwe. It was a game of two halves, as the Sables controlled the first half scoring 26 unanswered points. The second half belonged to the Lions as two quick tries from Isaiah Nyariki and Oliver Mangeni in the opening stages saw us come to within 12 points of the Sables. The come back was however not to be as a late penalty saw Zimbabwe claim a 29-14 win.

Speaking after the game, head coach Jerome Paarwater noted that the side had a poor first half and despite coming back strongly in the second, many scoring opportunities were wasted and thus proved costly in the end. The team now regroups to face Namibia on Saturday, the side that beat Zimbabwe 35-26 earlier in the week. The Lions still stand a chance of winning this tournament, provided that we beat Namibia by more than 15 points and deny them a bonus point.

All the best to the team.. you can catch highlights of the match against Zimbabwe here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJCGGu1FU-M&feature=youtu.be (Courtesy of Zimbabwe Rugby)

Finally to the weekend's Kenya Cup predictions, as always feel free to share yours in the comments section:

Eldoret +5 over Mombasa

Nakuru +30 over Blad

Strathmore +40 over Kisumu

Mwamba +20 over Machine

KCB +15 over Western Bulls

Nondies +20 over Homeboyz.

With that ladies and gents.....do enjoy the rugby action and lets compare notes on Monday.

KWISHA.....Nimeruka Nje!!

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