Battle lines drawn as Ofafa Jericho, Nairobi School power into rugby 15s semi-finals

Antony Brian of Mang'u high school tackles George Mairura of Ofafa Jericho high school in the schools category of the Impalla floodlit tournament at the Impalla grounds

Ofafa Jericho and Nairobi school are through to the semifinals of Nairobi Secondary Schools Sports Association (NSSSA) rugby 15s.

Ofafa Jericho thrashed Muhuri Muchiri 27-0 in a one-sided quarter-final match played at Nairobi School at the weekend.

This was the second time Muhuri Muchiri suffered defeat at the hands of Ofafa as they were beaten 24-0 at the preliminary stage. Ofafa remain untainted following successful outings as they have triumphed, drubbing Highway Secondary  73-0 and Aquinas Boys 44-0 en route to the knock-out stage.

Going into the semis, Ofafa will be relying heavily on the services of key players eighth man Yun Omayo, Winger Alvin Thomas and prop Ernest Ouma who have been very instrumental in the journey of the team this far.

Thomas Muiruri of Ofafa Jericho told FeverPitch they have made major changes in their style of play and also rectified mistakes from past competitions. This, he says, will help them achieve their main purpose which is to be in the nationals.

 INSTILLED DISCIPLINE

“It is the desire of everyone in the team to be at the national school games, we are all committed and will work together to make it happen,” Muiruri said.

He noted that they have instilled discipline and made it compulsory for their students to strike a balance between sports and academics.

He could not hide his joy and revealed that former Ofafa student Victor Ajele who excelled in last year’s KCSE, garnering (A-) 79 points, is a rugby player who made it in class and on the pitch.

 HOME SUPPORT

Nairobi took advantage of home support to whip their guests Makini School 61-6 to book a semis date with Ofafa at the Nairobi County games to be held this weekend at Upper Hill School.

Nairobi have had a good run and are yet to lose a match. They clobbered Dagoretti 59-6, Jamhuri 22-0 and Strathmore 27-0 at the group stage to make it to the quarters.

Nairobi School games master Michael Asava said his players are working hard to make it to the nationals with the aim of improving on their 2014 fifth-place finish nationally.

“Our main objective is to play in the nationals, we want to improve on last year’s performance but now our focus is to excel at the county level so we can earn a ticket to the Metropolitan games,” Asava said.

He said even though some key players have cleared school, they emphasise on players below 16 years which ensures they don’t run out of players to replace the ones who leave.

County champions St Mary’s School will face Lenana School while Upper Hill will clash with Sunshine to determine who makes the last-four list. Winners in both ties will meet for the finals.