KCB signal intent: Defending champs Bankers kick off Great Rift 10-a- side Main Cup on winning note

By  BEN AHENDA

Israel Soi (left) of Impala attempts to wriggle past an equally determined Beda Aluda of Kabras on Day 2 of Great Rift 10-a-side rugby tournament at Nakuru Athletics Club, yesterday. [PHOTO: BONIFACE THUKU / STANDARD]

Defending champions Kenya Commercial Bank sounded a stern warning of their intention to retain the title by winning first two preliminary matches as the 24th edition of the Top Fry Great Rift 10-a-aside championships kicked off at Nakuru Athletics Club yesterday.

KCB led Pool A table standings with six points after overcoming Bungoma 33-0 and Comras 38-12. Ken Mosoti, Collins Wangito and Essay Otieno scored the tries that propelled the Bankers against Bungoma and Mosoti only managed a conversion.

The Bankers were left with a match against Egerton University by our press time.

On their part, Comras avenged their first match defeat by running over Egerton 15-10 but later, they (Egerton) dismissed Bungoma RFC 32-7 to revive their hopes of finishing at a respectable position.

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Other teams that were poised to make for the Main Cup quarters were hosts and Kenya Cup League champions Top Fry Nakuru RFC, Kenyatta University’s Blak Blad, Homeboyz, Western Bulls, Impala, Strathmore Leos and Lunch Bar Harlequins.

Top Fry Nakuru RFC hammered Thika RFC 29-0 and thereafter humbled Technical University of Kenya (TUK) 51-0 in the Pool F matches.

They led table standings with six points from two matches with a match left against Kenyatta University’s Blak Blad.

On their part Blak Blad smashed a hapless TUK 52-12, before managing a 17-7 win over Thika RFC.

Positive start

Last year’s Main Cup losing finalists Mean Machine also made a positive start with a 29-0 thrashing over KCA University before rolling over Multi Media University 38-5 in the Pool B matches.

Machine was left with a match against Mwamba by our press time as Mwamba smashed Multi Media University 12-7 in their opening match.

KCA avenged their first defeat by hitting Mwamba  10-5.

In the Pool C, Homeboyz hammered University of Eldoret 49-0 and thereafter gave Masaku RFC a merciless thrashing of  41-0 in a group that had Western Bulls.

On their part, Western Bulls registered a 33-0 whipping of Masaku and later clobbered University of Eldoret 38-0 to stay on course to the Main Cup quarters alongside Homeboyz.

Former champions Impala RFC won their first two matches hitting Moi University 64-0 and later dismissed Kabras RFC 21-7 in the Pool D.

Other Pool D matches saw Strathmore manage a slim 10-5 win against Kabras before hammering Moi University 61-3. Impala and Leos were on the verge of making it to the next level with only match left against the two teams.

Former champions Harlequins struggled to register a 17-5 win over Stormers and later beat Catholic University 17-5 as Eldoret RFC lost 3-24 to Catholic University in Pool E matches.

The competition enters crucial stages this morning.