Defending champions Ofafa Jericho have been drawn in a easy Pool ‘A’ alongside Strathmore, Jamhuri and Moi Forces Academy in the Nairobi County Secondary Schools Association rugby championship set to start tomorrow.
Ofafa were losing finalists in the season opening Impala Floodlight tournament against Laiser Hill in November and will be hoping to go all the way to represent the county at the Metropolitan Championships.
Pool ‘B’ will see Lenana facing Nairobi Pentecostal Church, Mutuini and St. Aloysius. Upper Hill school will be the frontrunners in Pool ‘C’ alongside Makini School, Aquinas and Our Lady of Mercy.
Nairobi School are the front runners alongside Sunshine, Kangemi and Dagoretti in Pool D while St Mary’s, Muhuri Muchiri, Ruthimitu and Highway complete the line-up in Pool E.
Pool ‘A’ and ‘E’ matches will be played at St Mary’s School with Pool ‘B’ matches being played at Lenana School. Upper Hill will host Pool ‘C’ encounters while Nairobi School will play host to Pool ‘D’ battle .
There will be a seeding for the top eight teams after the conclusion of the preliminary matches to determine who qualifies for the quarter-finals . The quarter-finals are slated for March 5 with the semi-final three days later and the final on March 12.
The winner and losing finalist will go on to represent Nairobi County at the Metropolitan games. Co-ordinator Maurice Okumu said they expect a competitive tournament considering new schools have emerged. “ It’s good to see healthy competition emerging between various schools in the county and this is good for the growth of the game.
Okumu said the teams have already played build-up matches in readiness for the start of the championship.
Elsewhere Mean Machine were on Wednesday presented with new kit from the Old Boys Association. The set of 25 kit arrived in the country early this week and was bought from Sumrai Sportswear. Mean Machine are expected to use the kit for the first time during their match against Mwamba on Saturday.
Speaking during the presentation, KRU Chairman Richard Omwela said, “We have been concerned about Machine playing unit particularly the kit they have been using.”
“I appealed to the alumni of Mean Machine who are in the corporate world to help me to put together money to buy kit for the team because we can see clearly there is not much institutional support for the team so I put that initiative a few month ago,”
“The kit is now here and at least motivation can comeback to the team.”
Former captain Cliff Mukulu who won Kenya Cup in his first season in 1977 urged the team to return back to winning ways so as to lure back the sponsors and well wishers.
“We can return this team to where it was back then. We as the old boys are ready to help you move forward but you also have to pull up your socks,” said Mukulu.
The three-time Kenya Cup winners are currently 12th in the 14-team log with five points after eight games played so far. The team is only ahead of the recently promoted Thika RFC and Bungoma Sharks.