stand accused." Accused of what? "You may ask. They conspired amongst
themselves to mess up the 3+5=4 pre-Kenya Cup semi final equation that
had so carefully been calculated!
What was expected to be a tightly contested battle for the fourth semi
final slot was over before you could say "over". Three or four weeks
into the seven week round robin phase of the 2010 Kenya Cup and the
semi finalists had bolted from the rest of the gang. Like Usain Bolt
they bolted clear, never threatened, never to be caught.
Twenty eight matches later and the usual suspects, led by Nivea for
Men Quins accompanied by Kenya Commercial Bank RFC, Nakuru RFC and
Resolution Health Impala RFC remain in contention for the league
title. All four sides will be in action when the semi final playoffs
take place in a double header at the RFUEA Grounds on Ngong' Road on
Saturday 10th April 2010 from 2.30pm. This quartet took advantage of
the Easter break to throw in extra training sessions ahead of this
weekend's "Kichinjio Saturday" when we will know the identity of the
two sides who will fight it out for the 2010 Kenya Cup title.
The seriousness with which they are approaching the semi final
playoffs was evident this past weekend when three sides, with the
exception of Nakuru RFC opted to send experimental sides to the 21st
Great Rift Ten-A-side tournament held in Nakuru.
Back to matters Kenya Cup and Michael "Tank" Otieno's Kenya Commercial
Bank RFC, who finished second in the regular season, entertain Nakuru
RFC who were third heading into the playoffs in the day's early kick
off, the first semi final at 2.30pm. The Lions' hosted Nakuru on match
day six, claiming a hard fought 26-14 result over the Wanyore. Nakuru
has in previous years been KCB's bogey team, beating them at will
though this trend seems to have been bucked. The Lions have won their
last three fifteens encounters in all competitions against the
Wanyore. They head into this fixture hungry for a win that will bring
them even closer to reclaiming a title they won three years in
succession between 2005 and 2007. Nakuru are no pushovers, they have
the capacity to make life difficult for their opponents and will be
out to do exactly that.
Nivea for Men Quins, first in the regular season play neighbors
Resolution Health Impala RFC who ended the regular season in fourth
place in the day's top billing. These two sides are not only fighting
for a berth in next weekend's final, they are also playing for Ngong'
Road bragging rights. Quins' will be out to complete the season's
double over their opponents, having beaten them 21-12 on match day six
at the same venue. Impala, on the other hand, will be out to negate
that result by recording a victory that would put them within eighty
minutes of retaining their title, ironically snatched from Quins who
had won it in 2008.
The Eric Shirley Shield semis will also take place this weekend. It's
"Kichinjio Saturday", you definitely don't want to miss out on the
action.
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