Kenya Simbas skipper George Nyambua said a change of tact was the key to retaining the Elgon Cup for the fifth year in a row against Uganda.
The burly back row was delighted with the hard-fought win 20-13 against their noisy neighbours at the Jomo Kenyatta Stadium in Kisumu on Saturday.
“We changed our strategy. Winning the collision and the setpiece and dictating on the scoreboard were the key areas for us and I am happy we got the win after the Victoria Cup defeat in Kampala last weekend,” said Nyambua.
The Kabras skipper said the pain of losing the Victoria Cup last weekend spurred them to victory.
“Losing the Victoria Cup by a point was tough to swallow for the side We vowed to win the Elgon Cup at home to give our fans something to smile about," he said.
Kenya Simbas head coach Jerome Paarwater said there is room for improvement ahead of next year's Currie Cup and international test season in June.
"We have had short training periods with several new players. My prayer is to have longer training periods to improve our basic core skills for next year,” added Paarwater.
In a scrappy encounter, the hosts began brightly with man-of-the-match flyhalf Jone Kubu kicking over a penalty for a 3-0 lead.
The Simbas dominated the exchanges winning territory and possession and it came as no surprise when Elkeans Musonye barged over the try line from a rolling maul with Kubu converting for a 10-0 lead.
The Ugandans regrouped and slowly came back to the match as skipper Ivan Magomu slotted home a penalty midway through the half for a 10-3 lead. Both sides were, however, guilty of handling errors and penalties at the breakdown as the half drew to a close.
On resumption, Kubu sliced open the Ugandan defence to score and convert for a 17-3 lead.
The visitors were not going down without a fight and Timothy Kisiga touched down with substitute Liam Walker slotting home the conversion to bring the Ugandans within seven points.
Then Walker slotted home a penalty to bring the Ugandans to within four points.
On sensing danger, Kubu slotted home a vital penalty to take the lead back to seven points.
The Kenya Lionesses also retained their Elgon Cup title with an 87-3 thrashing of Uganda.
