Vihiga Boys High School coach Abdalla Abubakar /HANDOUT Vihiga Boys coach Abdallah Abubakar believes competition for the Federation of East African Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSSA) games rugby 15's title will be very tight.
Vihiga are currently the National Secondary Schools Games 15s rugby champions. Abubakar said the title will be won by very slim margins and tipped Vihiga to prevail.
Vihiga Boys are in Pool ‘A’ alongside compatriots Upper Hill, Uganda’s Namilyango College and Jinja Senior School. Pool B will feature FEASSSA defending champions All Saints Embu, national runners-up Kisii School, Kings College Buddo, and Busoga Col Mwiri, both from Uganda. Kisii will renew their rivalry with All Saints Embu.
In the national final, Vihiga Boys came from 6-0 down to beat Kisii School 12-6 in a tightly contested match. Vihiga had trounced Upper Hill in the semis while Kisii beat All Saints Embu.
“Being debutants, I don’t know much about Ugandan teams, but by being hosts, we want to do our best. The game against Upper Hill will be close because we beat Upper Hill narrowly in Mombasa,” said Abubakar.
The rugby 15s competition will be held at the Bull Ring in Kakamega. The Kenyan teams are currently camping in Kakamega ahead of the games that will kick off next week.
Kisii School coach Edwin Morara is confident they will lift the title on their debut. “We can contest for the title. Since we finished second in Mombasa in the first term, we have sharpened our attack and strengthened our defence. The boys have also improved tactically in all areas,” said a confident Morara.
Commenting on the pooling, Morara said: “It's a fairly good group because we have played All Saints Embu twice, won one and lost one. We are playing against Ugandan teams for the first time, but I believe we shall overcome them,” said Morara. He added: “The boys are in high spirits. They can’t wait for the kick-off next week.”
Friends School Bwake's director of rugby, Benson Amboko, said: "We are going all out for the trophy. The players who were injured in the semi-finals against Koyonzo have all recovered. We have also changed our model of play, which allows us to play without some players in case of injuries," added Amboko.
