When a ruthless and ambitious Menengai Oilers host Kabras Sugar in the season-ending Enterprise Cup final, the one-million-dollar question is; who will blink first?
The final of the 92-year-old tournament will be played at Nakuru Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) Showground on Saturday starting 3pm.
The sugar millers booked a ticket for the final after locking out Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) 25-21 in the first semi-final match at Kakamega ASK Showground, while the Oilers sealed a ticket to today’s match by thrashing Nondies 41-10 in Nakuru.
The eagerly awaited Enterprise Cup final is the talk of Nakuru town as it comes a week after the Oilers displayed a momentous mastery and coordination to beat their arch-rivals 15-0 in the final of the 32nd edition of the Great Rift 10-a-side rugby tournament at Nakuru Athletics Club on Sunday.
The Oilers sailed to the final of the Nakuru tournament after beating United States International University USIU) 40-5 in the quarter finals of the main Cup, and in the semis they thrashed hosts Nakuru RFC 17-7.
Kabras Sugar qualified for the final by beating Molo RFC 22-0. In the semifinals, they defeated Kenyatta University Blak Blad 29-0.
The Oilers last lifted the Great Rift 10-a-side rugby tournament title in 2019. Sunday’s victory against Kabras RFC was a sweet revenge for the Oilers who narrowly lost 27-26 to the sugar millers in the final of the Kenya Cup in Kakamega.
Menengai Oilers’ assistant coach, Benson Kamau, who was in charge during the Great Rift 10-a-side tournament, said they are ready for the next challenge.
“We’re always ready for the next challenge. We knew we were facing an acid test against Kabras RFC, and beating them ahead of the Enterprise Cup final was the best form of mental preparation for the team,” Kamau said after his team beat Kabras Sugar RFC.
Kabras Sugar coach Okello Meso who was in charge of the team in the 10-a-side tournament in Nakuru, conceded defeat but vowed to exact his revenge in the Enterprise Cup final.
“It was hard luck for us. We had a relatively young squad that could not withstand the Oilers' heat. It is a good learning curve, and come the final of the Enterprise Cup, we shall put our best foot forward and avenge the Great Rift 10-a-side tournament defeat. It will be a tough encounter, and the Oilers should be prepared for a tough encounter,” said Meso.
The winners of the Enterprise Cup may as well bag the bragging rights as the best rugby side in Kenya this season when they clash in what is dubbed “the battle of the Rais.”
The two teams are sponsored by the Rai Group, which dominates the lucrative sugar industry business in East Africa.
The multiple-winning Kabras Sugar RFC are the defending champions of Enterprise Cup and will be going flat out to claim their fifth crown in a row.
The sugar millers' last defeat in the Enterprise Cup was in 2018 when they lost to Impala in the semi-finals.
With this background in their minds, Kabras Sugar RFC will be in Nakuru for the second time in less than a week for two missions - to avenge the Great Rift 10-a-side defeat and retain their Enterprise Cup for the fifth time in a row.
With the Oilers enjoying great form led by their most valuable player, Eric Ogutu, today’s clash is expected to be a tough encounter full of fireworks.
Others players in the Gibson Weru-coached side include John Okoth the Kenya 7s star who will be assisted by Tony Oketch, Abutwalib Wesonga and Daniel Kipchirchir.
