New champions were crowned in rugby 15s and hockey as this year’s Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) National Term One games ended at Hill School Eldoret.
Butula Boys from Western region showed class, hammering Eastern’s All Saints 38-0 in a lopsided final tie to lift the national trophy. By winning the title, Butula ensured that the trophy remained in Western in the absence of Kakamega High School who won in 2019. Rugby 15s was not played last year after a two year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
After finishing second in rugby 7s last year, Butula coach Shimenga Livondo set his eyes on the 15s title. “This trophy is the evidence of our hard work and commitment because after last year’s competition we did not rest but continued to train in preparation for the 2023 games. We had finished second nationally and fourth in East Africa and our aim was to play better this year,” Shimenga said.
He added that having accomplished their mission at the national games, their focus will now be on helping Kenya recapture the East Africa rugby 15s title they lost to Uganda last year. Kenya did not field teams in the longer version of the game at the games held in Arusha, Tanzania. St Anthony’s Kitale forced a slim 13-12 win against Nairobi’s Ofafa Jericho to finish third. That victory could be their ticket to Rwanda if Kenya since Kenya plans to field three teams in each category.
In hockey, Musingu also from Western dethroned St Anthony’s Kitale from Rift Valley following their 1-0 victory in the decisive clash to bag the national gong. Alex Kigaro whose 28th minute goal delivered the trophy was the star of the day. Kigaro‘s goal was the gamechanger as they resorted to defensive play denying their opponents a chance to score an equalizer. They protected their lead in the second half to snatch the title from St Anthony’s.
In the girls’ contest, Nyamira Girls from Nyanza reclaimed the national title that has eluded them after many years after edging out Tigoi Girls from Western 1-0 in the final. The Siaya County students finally salvaged their lost glory after year’s of living in the shadows of former national and East Africa champions Sinyolo Girls.
Musingu who had last featured at the national games in 2017 beat Meru School 2-0 to book a date with St Anthony’s who dismissed Mang’u 4-3 in a penalty shootout after their semis clash had ended in a 1-1 deadlock in regular time. On their way to the final, girls’ champions Nyamira had trounced Eastern’s AIC Nyayo 4-0 while Tigoi beat St Joseph’s Kitale 2-1. Mang’u and St Joseph’s won their respective third-place playoff matches against Meru School and AIC Nyayo to revive their hopes of playing at the East Africa games.
By Education News
Get more stories from our website: Education News
You can also follow our social media pages on Twitter: Education News KE and Facebook: Education News Newspaper for timely updates.
