Shimenga, the force behind the roaring St Peters rugby team

St Peter Mumias High School rugby head coach Libondo Shimenga believes that arch-rivals Kakamega High are the stumbling block to his team winning the national 15s title.

Kakamega High beat rivals St Peter’s 7-5 in the regional finals in last year’s Kakamega County Secondary Schools Term One “A” games. However, Shimenga has vowed to play a different ball game in a bid to get the most out of the enemy should the two sides collide again this term.

“I know them well,” Shimenga said, adding that: “I will use more of my forwards, and in terms of skill level the boys have developed since last year.

He went on: “I had a young team whose skill level was a bit low but at least they have gained a lot of experience and they now know what to do on the pitch.

“We have to improve in some areas especially the locks.Some of them are playing in the position for the first time, but with time they will get the concept right,” Shimenga said.

Buoyed by their impressive performance at the regional finals, Kakamega went on to bag the national championship title after defeating Laiser Hill 18-14 in the final to win their first title since 2013.

And premised on last year’s heroics, Shimenga maintains that his team can only get better since he’s lost only four players out of the 22-man squad that fell to Kakamega in the regional final.

“Kakamega is still the team to beat, although we also have Chavakali High School and Bungoma High. Kakamega has mastered the art and is a dangerous team to play especially when you meet them in a final,” he noted.

The ‘Saints’ are not new to the rugby scene though. In 2016, under the stewardship of Shimenga, the school was crowned the East Africa Secondary Schools Sevens champions after beating Uganda’s Kololo Secondary 21-14 in the sevens final and their focus in now on conquering the 15s world.

He said: “The sevens game requires players who think very fast and are quick to make decisions in the minimum time possible. A good sevens player must have several manipulative skills and can play in at least three positions because if someone gets sin-binned he needs to come in and support the team,” the veteran coach explained.

For Shimenga, rugby is inborn. He hails from a rugby family, his brother Edwin Shimenga played for Nakuru RFC and was also a member of the national sevens team between 2008 -2010, and it explains how he got entangled in the game that he’s grown to love so much.

“My love for rugby started in high school. I have played for Egerton University’s team, The Wasps, and Nakuru RFC,” he said.

Shimenga made his coaching debut in 2000 handling Chavakali High School and won the national sevens title three times.

He joined St Peters Mumias in 2008 and since he took over the mantle, the team has only missed the national competition on three occasions, reinforcing his credentials as one of the top rugby brains in the country.

Meanwhile, as teams prepare for the national Term One Games set to run from April 6-14 in Embu, Shimenga is already plotting for the rivals’ downfall.

He warned: “Come knowing that we are a different animal. This season we are ready for the fight and we won’t make it easy for anyone,” he told Citizen Digital.