The local league is heating up as teams jostle for positions at the
summit of the league. League leaders Strathmore (32pts) have proved to
be a hard nut this season posting five consecutive wins to soar high up
in the Kenya cup standings. The university side's last casualties were
the then league leaders’ Mwamba.Leos will be out to maintain their
impressive run as they take on Impala on week eleven.
Impala on
the other hand stand a meager 6th position with 23 points and will be
looking to move up the standings if only they beat the league leaders.
Having got back to winning ways in match day 10, Impala will be backing
in their new found spirit to bring them the goods.
KISUMU VS NAKURU RFC (KISUMU POLY)
Known
to most as the battle of the lakes, Nakuru RFC stand at no.4 with 28
pts in the standings while Kisumu are at the rear of the table at no.9
with 12 pts.
The lakeside outfit has had by far a welcome of fire
to the top tier rugby league in Kenya, yet again in most of the losses
they have certainly not gone down without a fight proving yet again that
they are worthy to play in the league.
Fresh from a loss to the
defending champions’ Quins they are pitted against NAKURU RFC who by my
own judgment stands a chance of being crowned champions in 2012.A
resurgent, strong and disciplined Nakuru side has kept close with the
leading trio up in the summit and boy they are a handful.
Maybe
just maybe the return of their prolific fly half Oscar Ouma from
international duty is going to be more of an inspiration to the boys in
green.
KCB VS HOMEBOYZ
The lion vs. The dj!! Talk of
the jungle has it that the lion is the king. Well I wonder if really
that’s the case but yet again who knows this is a different jungle I
guess.
KCB are currently joint top with Mwamba all with 30
points enjoying most of their season home and away from home .In the
return fixture the lions narrowly beat Homeboyz by a 5 point margin
winning 22-17 .
While Homeboyz are currently at position 10 with
9 pts playing probably the worst rugby they `ve ever played since
emerging from the Eric Shearly cup!! Back to back losses to Nakuru and
Impala respectively has left them bottom of the standings going into day
11 hence something has to be done.
The Paul Amunavi led side
need to rediscover their winning formula real soon if they are to drift
away from relegation!! `SOON `should be the word.
QUINS VS MACHINE
The
current defending champions are definitely not living to their form
that saw them go the whole season last year undefeated on their way to
claiming silverware.
Quins currently 5th on 25pts have been on
an impressive run winning 5 matches consecutively and with 2 matches at
hand they are on the perfect road to success.
Machine on the
other hand are placed 7th on 15 points and have had a lukewarm season
occasionally pulling strings together at times while sometimes rating
themselves poorly!! They are certainly a side that can give Quins a run
for their money on any good day.
MWAMBA VS NONDIES
Mwamba
previously on top of the league prior to last week’s loss to current
leaders Strath lie joint second with KCB though enjoy a superior point
advantage! With 30 points going into match day 11 and getting that
marginal boost with the return of Lavin, Injera and Horace who`ve been
on duty with the national 7s team, most could place their bet on Mwamba
to edge Nondies out.
Nondies wouldn’t suffer the tag under dogs
when they visit Mwamba though with 12 pts so far and a dismal position
at no.8 in the standings, Nondies need to do more or rather the effort
should be extra hard if they are to pull a surprise against the reigning
7’s champions.
Eric Shirley Shield
Leaders Western
Bulls will be out to consolidate their lead when they host Nakuru II.
Second placed Quins II put their 100% record on the line when they face
Machine II. Only one point separates the top two sides and victory is
key for both.
Nationwide League West
Eldoret RFC lead the Nationwide West, their match away to Kakamega is an opportunity to extend their lead.
Nationwide League East
Kenyatta University’s Blak Blad are
comfortably in the lead, boasting a 100% record. They face JKUAT looking
to further stretch pole their lead.
Universities. Egerton, with
seven wins from seven outings lead the standings, ahead of Kenya Poly
who also hold an unbeaten record but have two matches in hand. Egerton
play away to Thika.
Collated Fixtures Saturday 18 February 2012
KENYA CUP (KICK OFF 4.30pm)
Impala RFC v Strathmore Leos
Mwamba RFC v Nondies
KCB v Homeboyz RFC
Kisumu RFC v Nakuru RFC
Lunch Bar Quins V Mean Machine RFC
ERIC SHIRLEY SHIELD
Impala II v Strathmore II
Mwamba II v Nondies II
KCB II v Homeboyz II
Western Bulls v Nakuru II
Quins II v Machine II
NATIONWIDE WEST
Kisumu II v Siaya
Kakamega v Eldoret
Webuye v Bungoma
Maseno v Kisii
Masinde Muliro v Moi Uni
NATIONWIDE EAST
Blak Blad v JKUAT
Mombasa v Pwani
Spartans v Mombasa Poly
USIU v Oryx
UNIVERSITIES
Blad II v MultiMedia
Kimathi v Kabarak
KEMU v Comras
K.Poly v Daystar
Thika v Egerton
Catholic v Nazarene
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