Upper Hill floor Strathmore to retain Nairobi rugby 15s title

Upper Hill successfully defended their regional rugby 15s title on Saturday after crushing Strathmore 67-05 in the Kenya Secondary School Sports Association Nairobi region school games held at Nairobi School.

Upper Hill signalled their intent to cruise in the second minute when Jackson Otieno danced past The Bandits to give the champions the lead with Benjamin Ederu converting to make it 7-0 lead.

Two minutes later, Arnold Wayne doubled their lead, and Ederu made no mistake in converting it to a 14-0 lead.

The rout continued until the 18th minute when the tournament's Most Valuable Player, Kamau Kangie responded for the Bandits with a beautiful try, their only one of the day.

They were already 45-0 behind when Kangie responded to give them consolation.

Upper Hill never slowed down, they were men on a mission, continuing to toy with Strathmore and whitewashing them 57-05 by the time the half-time whistle blew.

Second half produced a quite slow-paced game as Upper Hill relaxed, turning the match into a training session. They however added two more tries to win by a huge margin.

Head coach Newton Mose praised his charges for the dominant win they recorded.

“Another resounding victory against a worthy opponent. We used the wingers and speed to win the game. We had minimal mistakes and also avoided contact. Kudos to the boys for the impressive shift,” Mose told Citizen Digital.

He is buoyant of repeating the same performances during the nationals in Kisumu.

“Last year the weather really took a toll on my boys but this year we are playing in conditions we are used to. I’m confident we will lift the national title.”

His counterpart David Ndimba praised his boys despite the defeat, acknowledging the quality within the Upper Hill camp.

“My boys gave their best today; Upper Hill is a very good side and we take the defeat with our heads held high. We will go, strategize, work on bulking and I believe we will come back better next year,” said Ndimba.

In Girls’ rugby 15s, Mbagathi girls lifted their inaugural title after defeating hapless Karen C 53-0.

Head coach Linet Onchwati was over the moon after lifting the title.

“The game was quite tough, a defensive game but my attackers responded well. I want to thank the KSSSA for bringing back the game and we look forward to continuing to dominate. We now shift our focus to nationals and we will give it all to lift the national title.”

In boys' hockey, Hospital Hill also retained their title after seeing off Nairobi School 3-1 in a nail-biting clash.

Blessed Lanziya gave the reigning champions the lead in the 7th minute but Teddy Ali responded seven minutes later to level the game.

Both teams continued their search for the lead but it ended in a 1-1 draw at the break.

Hospital Hill reclaimed their mojo in the second half with Mike Thande slotting home a brilliant goal just four minutes after the restart.

Nairobi School exerted pressure in search of an equalizer but captain Tilly Tailus broke their hearts in the late embers of the game with another brilliant goal to ensure the win for Nyari boys.

Head coach John Kaloti was in awe of his boys’ impressive performance against the 2024 champions.

“The game has been tough, Patch made us sweat but we remained resilient. We settled in the second half and scored the two goals. However, we need to be ruthless in front of goal,” said Kaloti.

Girls’ category produced a similar show as Mwiki eased past arch-rivals Pangani with a 6-1 win to retain their title.

Purity Moraa and Gloria Okenyuri led Pangani’s demolition with a hat trick and a brace, respectively, as Valary Anyango added another.

Captain Meplhine Nyongesa was overjoyed by their emphatic win.

“I’m happy we have been able to retain our title. Everyone worked hard for the win and we executed it well. We also want to take the same energy to the nationals.”

In handball, Highway Secondary School also retained their title after defeating arch-rivals Hospital Hill 22-20.

Girls’ category produced a new champion as Nembu girls ascended to the title after demolishing Ruai Girls 38-21.