Upper Hill rugby 7’s completed a double against their fierce rivals and compatriots Laiser Hill to emerge new champions in the ongoing East Africa Games in Arusha, Tanzania yesterday.
Upper Hill clinched the title after dethroning holders Laiser Hill School 27-14 in their final round-robin match.
The side, coached by Thomas Walgwe, won against their rivals during the national secondary school games held in April in Mombasa. Walgwe attributed the win to the mental strength of the players.
He said: “At the end of it all, we have dethroned Laiser who were the defending champions prior to the event. We lost against St Peter’s in our first match 15-7 but that was given since they are a physical side and we had little time to recover when we were lining up against Laiser. I must laud the boys for the mental strength and now we have the title with us.”
Upper Hill finished top of the pile with 15 points, winning five and losing one of their round-robin matches. Laiser Hill, who have 12 points, play Okeeswa of Tanzania today and irrespective of whether they win against the host, they will still finish second, thanks head-to-head rules.
Upper Hill were impressive from the onset and shocked Laiser with a 17-0 half-time lead. Calvin Kahindi scored two tries with James Mwangi’s converting to give Upper the advantage at the break. Laiser improved in the second half with Brunson Madigu scoring two tries with Frederick Odongo adding a conversion. However, Pius Odera and Dennis Onyono added two more tries in the second half to complete the run.
In hockey, St Cecilia Misikhu won all their matches to top Group ‘A’ to set a semis date with national finalists St John’s Kaloleni who finished second in Group ‘B’. The second semis slot will see Nyamira Girls clash with Uganda’s Kakungulu Memorial who finished ahead of St John’s.
In the boys’ contest, defending champions St Anthony’s Kitale and former East Africa champions Friends School Kamusinga advanced to the semis.
