KCB subdue Mwamba

By BS Mulavi

Kenya Commercial Bank RFC survived an early scare from Mwamba RFC at the Railways Club to comfortably win with a 29-10 margin.

Hosts Mwamba had started off very strongly but a series of yellow cards dented their chances of upsetting the former three-time Kenya Cup champions. Tries from Brian Otieno, Xavier Makuba and Calvins Biko were enough to propel the bankers to what turned out to be an easy second half.

At the University of Nairobi, hosts Mean Machine were trampled 22-11 by a fluid Nakuru side. Nakuru’s forwards had a field day, roving all over the pitch which was a little too much for the students to handle. This was their second consecutive

Mwamba’s Salaton Muturi (left) congratulates Calvin Biko of KCB after the bankers won the match at Railways Club, Nairobi, at the weekend. [PHOTO: STAFFORD ONDEGO/STANDARD

defeat of the league.

lack of basics

Mean Machine wasted many chances and suffered from lack of basics, missing a couple of tackles and giving away possession easily.

Defending champions Kenya Harlequin remained on course to defending their title with a 25-15 away win at Strathmore University.

"I think we underestimated the students a little bit but after we put our feet on the ground, we regained rhythm and pulled off the vital win," said Quins captain of the day Andrew Raudo.

Raudo took over as captain in the absence of Daniel Kiptoo who was not available for the game alongside Vincent Ongera and Joel Ng’ang’a.

Allan Makaka scored a brace for the champions, while Jared Owino and Lewis Olaka also got their names on the scoreboard.

Impala capitalised on Nondies RFC errors to scrape a late 20-13 win at Jamhuri Park.

narrow lead

Nondies had gone into the half with a narrow 10-8 lead, but the red shirts came back with a ferocious appetite for a win that forced the hosts to buckle and concede two tries thereby sealing their fate.

Impala took an early lead through a Nato Simiyu penalty, which was easily cancelled out by a Hilary Itela try. Innocent Simiyu scored a try at the corner flag for Impala but a dazzling run from Bobby Oyugi gifted the hosts with a 10-8 half time lead.

The red shirts piled on the pressure in the second half and a miscued kick by the hosts was gathered by Felix Makori whose try propelled the team to a 15-13 lead.

This was followed by a Ken Nyagetuba try from what appeared offside to the dismay of Nondies fans. The 20-13 win leaves Nondies with two points from two games and Impala with nine points.

Nondies coach Paul Odera rued missed chances "we let ourselves down and gave away a lead, but that’s done so now we move on to the next game."