Kakamega unable to scale Laiser Hill in 15s rugby
Bramuel Kiming of Muhuri Muchiri (left) shows Dr. Obote College players a clean pair of heels during their East Africa Secondary School Games boys' sevens rugby match at Comboni Vocational Institute, Gulu, Uganda on August 23, 2017. PHOTO | ISMAIL KEZAALA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Second half dominance by Kenyan champions sets them on course to lifting regional crown.
- 2015 champions look set to reclaim the 15s rugby title from their Kenyan arch-rivals.
- The 15s rugby result moved Laiser Hill to 19 points, the same as leaders Kakamega, after they bagged a bonus point from the emphatic win.
- Kakamega have one match left, while Laiser Hill have the advantage of two matches still to play.
IN GULU, UGANDA
Laiser Hill High School on Wednesday beat defending champions Kakamega High School 40-19 to inch closer to reclaiming the title they won in 2015 on Day Five of the Brookside East Africa Secondary School Games here.
The 15s rugby result moved Laiser Hill to 19 points, the same as leaders Kakamega, after they bagged a bonus point from the emphatic win.
Kakamega have one match left, while Laiser Hill have the advantage of two matches still to play.
“It is sweet revenge for us and we will savour every moment of this win. We are not yet going to celebrate because the title is not yet won and we need to finish the job,” Laiser Hill captain Christopher Asira said.
The match, which was a repeat of the national final held at Nairobi School in April and won by Kakamega, began on a high pace at the Comboni Vocational Institute.
The Kajiado-based Laiser Hill drew first blood as Asira led from the front with the opening try that fly-half Johnstone Olindi converted for a 7-0 lead.
Kakamega, who were struggling to find their rhythm, did eventually settle and Timothy Onella outpaced the Laiser Hill defence to touch down and Eugene Miyinzi kicked the resulting conversion to level the scores.
Then the game turned into a scrappy affair as both sides struggled to find the breakthrough.
Kakamega took the lead for the first time in the match after Miyinzi kicked over a penalty for a 10-7 lead.
However, just before the half-time whistle, Laiser Hill’s Martin Mugo bundled home another try and Olindi kicked over for a 14-10 lead. Laiser Hill extended their dominance after the break with two tries from William Difu and Kevin Kerore. Olindi’s boot was again a sure bet with two conversions with Clinton Kioko also notching another try.
Kakamega kicked in two penalties late on, but it proved to be a mere consolation as Laiser Hill secured the famous victory.
Laiser Hill play Uganda’s Namilyango College Thursday and a win will move them one win away from the title. They play their final match against home side St Mary’s Kisubi on Friday.
UPPER HILL FALTER
Six-time winners Kakamega, on the other hand, play Namilyango in their last match on Friday with their title chances out of their own hands.
In basketball, Kenyan teams continued to falter as St Brigid’s Kiminini and Upper Hill lost their girls’ and boys’ matches respectively.
St Brigid’s lost 47-64 to 2015 winners St Mary’s Kitende while 2013 champions Upper Hill suffered heartbreak as they went down 58-57 in overtime to Lycee du Tanganyika of Burundi.
