St Joseph's Girls' Kitale seek redemption at FEASSSA games in Kakamega

Federation of East African Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSSA) girls’ rugby Sevens champions will seek to redeem themselves when the regional showpiece gets underway in Kakamega next week.

St Joseph's Girls' Kitale, popularly known as JOGA, surrendered the national 7s title to archrivals Kinale Girls' at the Bull Ring in Kakamega after going down 17-5 last weekend. 

The 10-day extravaganza, which will feature teams from Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, and Kenya, will run from August 13 to 24.  

JOGA coach Godwin Alumada is confident about retaining the regional title.

"We are currently trying to rectify the mistakes we made during the final against Kinale. We are set to retain our title," said Alumada. 

 JOGA, Kinale, St Theresa's Kithimu, and Paul Harris will represent Kenya in rugby 7s, which is being held for the second year.

Kinale Girls' coach Allan Bush says they are eager to continue with their winning streak.

“We are favourites to lift the title, but we shall not underrate any team. All teams are equal opponents, and we shall take a game at a time. However, our target is to win the regional trophy,” said Bush.

Paul Harris coach Diane Sifuna expects a good outing for the girls at FEASSSA. 

"The girls have improved tremendously. We expect a semifinal slot at FEASSSA games," said Sifuna, who guided the team to a fourth-place finish during the national championships. 

In the boys' category, Kenya will be represented by newly crowned champions St Peter's Mumias, runners-up Koyonzo High School, third-placed Bungoma, and former national champions Friends School Bwake. 

St Peter's Mumias coach Nelson Jaika expects tough competition, but said they are ready. Vihiga Boys' won the title in Mbale, Uganda, last year. 

 "We want the 7s trophy to remain in Kenya. That's our target," said Jaika.

The 2023 regional champions, Koyonzo, coached by Eliud Okwemba, declared themselves favourites to win the tournament.  

"We are among the favourites, having played in the national finals and lost narrowly. The players have recovered from the loss and have set their sights on the regional games," said Okwemba. 

Bungoma's coach Titus Wangila is praying for the timely recovery of two key players who were injured during the national championships last weekend. 

 "We are looking forward to a better performance during the East African games. We had issues with our defence, but we shall work on that during the training camp," added Wangila.