Rhinos bag 6th Bamburi Rugby Super Series trophy

By BS Mulavi

Rhinos Franchise wrote a new chapter in regional rugby as they collected their sixth silverware and fourth in a row in the Bamburi Super Series tournament.

The franchise side, which consists of Kenya Harlequin and Nakuru RFC players, defeated Rwenzori of Uganda with a thumping 25-14 score line in a pulsating final at the RFUEA Grounds on Saturday.

Despite the emphatic victory, Rhinos were elated at the fact that they finally got revenge against Rwenzori, the only side to have beaten them in the campaign, three weeks ago in Kampala.

“We keep telling people that we did not lose to Rwenzori in Kampala, the game was stolen from us,” said Rhino head coach Eric Situma.

“The victory is sweet because we get to prove to people the calibre of players we have and that we did not lose rightfully in Uganda.”

Rwenzori had started the first half strongly but got their foot off the acceleration pedal as the second half wound on. This was caused by the fact that Rhinos slowly got their footing in the lockdown dictating the pace of the game as they held on to the slim lead.

Game plan

“During the half time break, we knew the first ten minutes would determine the outcome of the game. However, they were able to score and that acted like a trigger for our players who took it upon themselves to fight for the victory,” said Situma.

“The minute we scored to take the margin to 20-14 we knew that we were going to win this game and that did not slow us, rather it spurred us into further action with the boys intent on writing history.”

The Rhinos bag the ultimate prize of Sh300,000 cash prize while Rwenzori, take home the consolation prize worth  Sh200,000. Situma lauded the effort put in by the captain Joel Ng’ang’a, whom he feels, was pivotal in helping them maintain the momentum and navigate towards success.

“These are two very successful teams from the league, so for him to have helped the players jell as they did was really remarkable. The two teams are located very far from each other and the logistics was very hard but when two teams meet they always played hard under the leadership of Ng’ang’a,” said Situma.

Meanwhile Uganda coach Fred Mudola lauded his team for a remarkable run in this year’s tournament saying they have worked hard with a young side. He added that the performances can only means that there is so much more to come in future.