The Impala Ladies are the winners of the first leg of the KRU Women’s Festival after beating rivals and hosts, Top Fry Nakuru ladies 17-5 in the final played at the Nakuru Athletic Club.
They finished top of their pool after beating Kisumu Dolphins 34-0 and Ruckit Queens 25-12 where they booked a semifinal date against Mwamba RFC.
Commenting on her team’s victory, Head Coach Mary Ochieng commended her team on their exemplary performance throughout the day saying, “We worked on our conditioning to ensure our players are fit before the start of the league, we then incorporated basic skills and set pieces before working on the players’ mental skills. Last week during the Sisimka Charity Cup, we played and took note of the areas that we needed to build on which is what we did this week.”
On their way to the final, Nakuru beat Mwamba ladies 15-14 in a showdown that highlighted two try-scoring machines namely; Terry Ayesa of Mwamba and Grace Adhiambo of Nakuru. The two stars traded two tries each, however, it was Mwamba who was leading as both their tries were successfully converted while those of Nakuru were unconverted.
In the last play, Grace Adhiambo pounced on the loose ball in the in-goal area and grounded it securing her team’s spot in the final.
Mwamba’s head coach John Mbaabu commended the Union and Nakuru RFC for hosting a successful tournament. It was a sign that the women had missed being on the pitch after the one-year hiatus. Grace Adhiambo picked the top try scorer’s accolade having landed a total of seven tries during the one-day tournament.
In closing, Mary Ochieng’ added that her team went all out in honor of Impala Saracens fallen soldier and former Technical Team member of the ladies team, Richard “Jadha” Sidindi. “He was such a brave player of the Sarries and was a big supporter of women’s rugby. It is always our hope and prayer that his soul continues resting in peace and shining his bright light upon us.”
Collated scores
Impala 34 – Kisumu Dolphins 0
Ruckit Queens 34 – Kisumu Dolphins 5
Mwamba 14 – Top Fry Nakuru 15
Impala 25 – Ruckit Queens 12
CUP SF1: Mwamba 0 – Impala 34
CUP SF2: Nakuru 44 – Ruckit Queens 0
3rd/4th: Mwamba 17 – Ruckit Queens 7
CUP FINAL: Nakuru 5 – Impala 17
