Oilers' centre Samuel Ovwamu in action during a past match/HANDOUTMenengai Oilers target back-to-back titles at the Impala Floodlit Rugby Tournament, set to run from October 18 to November 1 in Nairobi.
Oilers’ head coach Gibson Weru said his side is in strong shape following six weeks of pre-season training.
“So far, so good. We’ve had a solid pre-season and the boys are looking sharp. The Sevens circuit has ended and we expect our Sevens players to join training this week,” said Weru.
The Nakuru-based club, which clinched its first major 15s title by dominating Impala 42-3 in last year’s final, will use the tournament to test their squad depth and fine-tune ahead of the Kenya Cup season, which kicks off in November.
“It will be a good tournament to test our depth and assess our preparedness for the start of the season,” Weru added.
Tournament organiser Kevin Gisore confirmed on Tuesday that eight clubs will feature in this year’s main competition. Oilers are joined by record 10-time champions KCB, Kenya Harlequins, Nondescripts, Strathmore Leos, Blak Blad, hosts Impala and Mwamba.
The tournament will also feature a university category, headlined by defending champions Rift Varsities—a combined side drawing players from Nakuru and the greater Rift Valley region.
They’ll be joined by university teams from Strathmore, Blak Blad (Kenyatta University), Mean Machine (University of Nairobi), Kabete Stallions, Zetech Oaks, among others.
The women’s category returns, featuring Kenya Cup champions Mwamba, Impala, Quins and Northern Suburbs.
The tournament draw will be conducted on Friday, while sponsorship details will be announced within the next two weeks.
“The organising committee is currently in talks with sponsors, and we expect to make a formal announcement within the next 14 days,” said Gisore.
Nondies will hope to reach the final after finishing third last year with a 34-15 win over Blak Blad in the bronze medal match. Rift Varsity edged Kabete Stallions 34-18 to lift the varsity title.
