By BS MULAVI
The Elgon Warriors will be holding nothing back when they take on the English Counties Saturday in Kampala.
Comprised of Kenyan and Ugandan national team players, the Elgon Warriors face a stern test against a good side that routed a makeshift Ugandan outfit 61-17 on Wednesday.
Despite the massive score, the Elgon Warriors are not cowed by the English side. Head coach Ham Onsando is confident of a victory. “We watched the Wednesday game and came up with a strategy that will stop them in their tracks,” he told FeverPitch.
“We have no option but to win and all we need is the support from our two nations’ fans.”
Onsando and assistant Michael Otieno were a bit bullish about the matter and reiterated that they would not be in the pitch to make up numbers, but to challenge their rivals competitively.
“We cannot base our performance from what happened on Wednesday. That was a team that was hastily assembled,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kisumu RFC are wary of the threat posed by their visitors Nakuru as the two sides meet this evening in the first round of the Enterprise Cup at the Kisumu Polytechnic.
The Enterprise Cup kicks off this weekend with eight teams in action hoping to secure a quarter-final slot next weekend against the four seeded semi-finalists from last year’s event.
Kisumu representative Paul Okong’o said they were aware that this is a knock out competition and should they lose they would be on the sidelines for three more weeks.
“We have a tough test ahead of us. Nakuru won the Chairman’s Cup last weekend and the senior members of the squad won the Bamburi Super Series with their franchise side Rhinos,” Okong’o said.
“They have a lot of experience and they are always tough opponents, but we can never get deluded. We just plan to keep playing our game, which is raw and hard and I believe we have the potential for an upset.”
The winner of this fixture face a tougher test next weekend when they will play the champions Harlequin.
“Nakuru players have been playing for the past two weekends, while our Bamburi Franchise had already been knocked out and unfortunately for us we did not participate in the Chairman’s Cup. That means they will have much more match fitness than us.”
“In sports, someone can train all they want away from the pitch but nothing can replace match fitness which is vital for a player,” he went on to explain.
The other fixtures of the weekend will see today where the coaches will select the final team to represent KDF in the national championships next month.
Selected results:
Men — 1,500m: James Magut (Navy) 3:43.6, Gideon Gathimba (LAB) 3:44.00 Vincent Leting (Lanet) 3:44.4. 800m:Geoffrey Matum (Isiolo) 1:14.8, Henry Bitok (Isiolo) 1:50.2 and Moses Kipchirir (Nanyuki) 1:50.4. Women — 100m: Emily Osino (Embakasi) 12.4, Lillian Shamala (Kahawa) 12.7, Everlyne Chege (Isiolo) 13.10. 800m: Winnie Chebet (Thika) 2:07.3, Selah Chepleting (Lanet) 2:07.9, Perin Nengempi (MAB) 2:08.5.
