KCB seek sweetness against Kabras Sugar: Bankers keen to maintain dominance in Kenya Cup final showdown

George Adongo (right) of Nakuru RFC battles for the ball with Darwin Mukidza of KCB during the Kenya Cup match played at Nakuru Athletics club on January 14,2016. KCB won 28 -11 .PHOTO:KIPSANG JOSEPH

 

Coaches upbeat before the two sides lock horns today in Ruaraka.

History is about to be re-written or records broken when Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) renew their rivalry with Kabras Sugar in what is expected to be another enthralling Kenya Cup final at KCB Sports Club, Ruaraka today (4pm).

While KCB will be aiming to extend their dominance over Kabras and retain the title they won last year after beating them 36-8 at the same venue, the millers will be out to break a winless jinx against the five time champions.

This will be the third Kenya Cup final between the two sides in the last four years and a fourth consecutive final for Kabras, who apparently have never beaten the bankers in the competition since they were promoted in 2014.

The unbeaten Curtis Olago’s KCB side sailed through after claiming their first victory in three years against Impala (15-0) last weekend as the 2016 champions once again defied all odds to see off Homeboyz 29-13 in the other semi-final.

Although history favours the bankers going into the grand finale, Kabras coach Charles Cardovillis has refused to be caught in the hype surrounding their opponents.

“Of course KCB is not an easy side to play against; they have been unbeaten the whole season and they are in the final by merit. It will just be about playing our rugby, focusing on our structures and not the opponents,” Cardovillis told The Standard Sports.

“We have an interesting record with KCB. We have never beaten them, the best we have done is a draw. But that is history and I think it will count for nothing on Saturday (today).

“We have to put that behind us and focus on the final and what is ahead of us. Just like we did against Homeboyz, people were all looking on how they beat us in the regular season but that was a non-issue. It is for the boys to focus on the game at hand and not what happened in the past.”

And having overcame the deejays’ hurdle, the former Kenya Harlequin coach believes the millers have a perfect strategy to end their winless run against the hosts.

“It will be more of the same of what happened last weekend. We picked up very valuable lessons throughout the seasons from both our wins and losses,” said Cardovillis.

“We are going to focus on our structures, execution and try our best to stop them from playing any sort of rugby. We hope to make them right like we did against Homeboyz.”