Kisii School dethrones All Saints Embu to win FEASSSA rugby 15s title on their debut

Kenya’s Kisii School are the new Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSSA) rugby 15s champions.

Kisii School, fondly known as the Raptors, dethroned last year’s winners, All Saints Embu, in a nail-biting final at the Bullring in Kakamega on Thursday afternoon.  

It was sweet revenge for Kisii won 11-6, having lost to All Saints in the national final and also in the group stages of FEASSSA Games.

The closely contested match was deadlocked at 6-6 at the halftime break. Kisii’s Matrix Matangi, who was named the games’ Most Valuable Player, scored two penalties for Kisii, with Josephat Karanja adding the two penalties for All Saints, Embu.

In the second half, Kisii, enjoying the support of their chief principal Fred Mogaka, came out strongly dominating the game with Isaac Mageto scoring the winning try, which was not converted.

Kisii held their nerve to win the game, which was graced by Kenya Academy of Sports chief executive officer, Doreen Odhiambo.

All Saints coach Benson Mwendwa conceded defeat. “Kisii were the better side today. They deserved to win. The final lived up to its billing, and I’m happy for my boys. You win some, you lose some; it was not our day,” said the tactician. 

“I will now focus on next year, and my target is to reclaim both the national and East Africa titles,” remarked Mwendwa.

His Kisii School counterpart said, “We expected the game to be cagey, and we prepared for this because all our games against All Saints have always been close. Winning our FEASSSA title on our debut has not been easy, but we prepared well for this. We were the better team throughout the tournament,” said Morara.

Kisii School progressed to the final after a hard-fought 3-0 win over Upper Hill School, while All Saints beat Uganda’s Jinja Senior School 24-11 in the other semi-final.

 Jinja Senior School upset Upper Hill School 13-12 in a tightly contested game to clinch the bronze medal.  

Kenya’s champions Vihiga High beat Kings College Buddo 28-0 to finish fifth, while Namilyango College saw off Busoga College 52-10 to finish 7th. 

Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) director in charge of development, Ochieng Ahaya, said he was impressed by the standards of the game exhibited throughout the tournament from the Kenyan teams.

“The future of rugby in Kenya is bright. Both the 15s and 7s teams exhibited good rugby here. We have talents which we shall continue to develop,” said Ahaya. He, however, warned that Uganda is fast catching up with Kenya. “We have to sit down and see how we can widen the gap,” added the veteran coach.