Menengai Oilers lifted their maiden rugby trophy on 21st April 2019 after beating the Menengai Cream Homeboyz RFC 10-5 at the Nakuru Athletics Club.
Homeboyz were first on the scoreboard in the second minute with the conversion sailing wide. Menengai Oilers leveled the scores with a minute left on the clock to half time with their conversion also sailing wide for a 5 all score at the breather. Derrick Keyoga opened up the second half with the Oilers’ second try for a 10-5 lead that they held on to till the final.
“Winning the tournament is an amazing feeling, it’s a culmination of the hard work we have put in over the past three years and I believe we are now starting to reap the fruits. We had a tough day yesterday in the pool stage but we managed to secure the two wins and a draw. In the quarterfinals, we were trailing Strathmore 12-0 but the boys dug deep, showed resilience in the match claiming the 17-12 win,” said Weru.
In the Cup semifinal, after several attempts at breaking the KCB’s defense line, Oilers finally succeeded in the second half as they landed the solitary try in the match and added the conversion, booking their slot in the final.
“Our performance was superb, we stuck to the structures we had practiced and it worked in our favour. Winning the tournament has a great feeling to it and we look forward to many more wins in the future,” added a very jovial Captain, Harold Anduvate.
PHOTO/ WILSON UBA
KCB finished third with a 17-5 win over Blakblad, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology claimed the 5th place title after a 33-10 win over Strathmore Leos. Hosts Top Fry Nakuru lifted the Challenge Trophy while Egerton Wasps finished 13th .
Top Fry Great Rift 10s Dream Team: Jude Baraka(Strathmore), Jacktone Mungayi(MMUST), Brian Songoi(Menengai Cream Homeboyz, Monate Akuei(Top Fry Nakuru), Harold Anduvate(Menengai Oilers), Patrick Mutuku(Resolution Impala Saracens), Geoffrey Ominde(Top Fry Nakuru), Anthony Kibet(Menengai Oilers), Arcadius Khwesa(Blakblad), John Bahati(MMUST)
