Kenya yesterday opened its medal account at the 23rd Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSSA) games in Morogoro, Tanzania with gold medal in girls’ sevens rugby through Kinale Girls.
The Kenyan champions claimed the title ahead of Uganda’s Jinja Secondary School, who settled for silver, while fellow Kenyan side Kimobo Secondary took bronze. All three teams had accumulated seven points from the round-robin matches played at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) grounds.
Kinale, however, finished top because of their superior points difference. Hosts Murongoine Secondary were fourth on three points.
Kinale bounced back strongly, having suffered defeat in their opening match. They narrowly lost 12-10 to Jinja, and responded with an emphatic 43-0 victory over Murongoine. They completed their campaign with another convincing 29-0 win against Kimobo on Monday.
Kimobo’s shock 15-5 victory over Jinja proved decisive in the title race, as the result enabled coach Allan Bush’s Kinale side to claim the championship at Jinja’s expense. Kenyan champions Kinale had also enjoyed success in the newly introduced 15-a-side competition, defeating St Joseph’s Girls (JOGA) Kitale 29-8 on Saturday. Only three teams are taking part in the 15s event this year, and Kinale have an opportunity to secure another trophy when they face Murongoine today.
In boys’ rugby sevens, Cardinal Otunga Mosocho are within touching distance of winning the championship. The Nyanza champions, who finished as first runners-up at the national level, remain the only unbeaten team after four matches. They need to overcome Ugandan opponents Busoga and Makerere Colleges today to win the title.
Cardinal Otunga have displayed considerable determination throughout the tournament. On Saturday, they staged two impressive comebacks at the SUA grounds. First, they defeated national champions Butula Boys 17-14, gaining revenge for the 26-0 defeat Butula inflicted on them in the national final at MPesa Foundation Academy in Thika two weeks ago. Later that day, Cardinal Otunga produced another comeback to overcome Uganda’s Mbarara High 17-15.
They had earlier recorded victories over fellow Kenyan side Friends School Bokoli, whom they defeated 12-0, and Tanzania’s Elerai, whom they beat 31-5.
“I want to appreciate the boys for the good job they have done so far; they have ticked all the boxes. It’s not yet over because we have two more games. We want to finish strong,” he said.
He added that although they had completed their matches against the Kenyan teams, they would approach the remaining games against Ugandan opposition with full respect.
“We are done with our compatriots from Kenya. We are not underrating the Ugandans at all,” he added.
Butula Boys recovered from their defeat to Cardinal Otunga by recording a massive 40-0 victory over Busoga. Bokoli also registered a similar 40-0 win against Elerai.
Meanwhile, St Mary’s Yala suffered a setback in their 15-a-side title ambitions after being held to an 11-11 draw by Jinja on Sunday.
Defending champions Kisii School are scheduled to face Upper Hill in a repeat of the national final played in April. Upper Hill won that encounter 15-8 in Kisumu. Both Upper Hill and Kisii currently have six points from two matches, while Yala are third with five points.
