Lions beat Nakuru to make Floodie final

Lions too strong for Nakuru

The late kick off saw Kenya Commercial Bank Lions beat Nakuru RFC 27-5, setting up a repeat final with Resolution Impala RFC. 

KCB started brightly, stamping their authority right from kick off and were soon rewarded with a try from Kenya Sevens player Dennis "Mawanja" Mwanja who barged over the try line. Peter Mutai converted for a 7-0 KCB lead. 

Nakuru naturally responded with a lot of pressure but had to contend with handling errors from their backs and  solid defending from KCB. They would soon concede a second try when Ken Isindu offloaded the ball to young Fabian Olando who chipped the ball over the advancing Nakuru backs before grounding the ball. Mutai missed this conversion as the Lions led 12-0. 

Nakuru scored their only try when Aggrey Omiyo, playing his last game for the Wanyore before returning to his base in the United States scored the easiest of tries, running through a static KCB defense to score under the posts. Calvin Otieno unbelievably missed what was a routine conversion as the scoreboard read 12-5 in KCB's favor. 

With the scores looking close, Mwanja's power run saw him scored his second try of the game, extending KCB's lead to 17-5. The Lions ended the first half in the ascendancy leading by the same score line. 

They would begin the second half pretty much the same way they ended the first, piling pressure on Nakuru and were awarded a penalty after a Nakuru infringement. Mutai drilled it over, extending the bankers lead to 20-5.  

Nakuru are known for their fighting spirit but they seem to have left it in Nakuru on the day. Even as KCB took their foot off the gas pedal, the Wanyore could not conjure up the magic that they are capable of. They went further behind when second half substitute Benjamin Ojema Otieno picked up a loose ball, dummied the Wanyore defense before racing twenty five meters to score a  try that Jotham Yahuma converted for a 27-5 lead that the Lions carried to the final whistle.

Dennis Mwanja was my man of the match. His two tries notwithstanding, he gained good ground for KCB every time he carried the ball, taking out one or two opponents while setting up platforms for KCB to launch more forays into Nakuru territory.