Upper Hill eye national glory after Nairobi rugby triumph

 Upperhill school rugby team at the Nairobi regional Championship at Nairobi School/HANDOUT

 Upper Hill School rugby coach Victor Walgwe is confident his side can mount a serious title challenge at this year’s Term One ball games set for Kisumu next month.

Walgwe’s charges underlined their credentials over the weekend by retaining the Nairobi regional crown with a commanding 67-5 victory over Strathmore School in the final played at Nairobi School.

“ The boys have shown their quality and execution over the three days of the regional championships. Now we pause, reflect and look at ways of improving ourselves before we head to Kisumu next month for the big dance,” said Walgwe.

Upper Hill narrowly missed out on glory last year during the national championships in Mombasa, falling 10-8 to eventual winners Vihiga High School in a tightly contested semifinal before losing 19-5 to former champions All Saints Embu in the bronze playoff.

However, Walgwe believes the lessons from last season have better prepared his side for a title push. “The boys have learnt their lessons from last season, and it’s pretty much the same squad with a couple of new additions,” he noted.

Despite the emphatic scorelines — including a 60-0 semifinal win over Nairobi School — Walgwe insists the results do not fully reflect the competitiveness of the Nairobi region.

“On paper, they look like big wins, but competition in Nairobi is cutthroat, and every team has made progress in the last year,” he added.

With just under a fortnight to the nationals, the tactician says the focus will be on fine-tuning key areas of play. “We have 14 days to polish up and work on several facets of play to be sharper by the time we go for the nationals and be competitive,” observed Walgwe.

He emphasised a cautious approach heading into the tournament, noting that no opponent can be taken lightly.

“We are taking it one match at a time. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. There are no easy teams, and every team is strong; they are all there on merit, and we cannot underestimate them,” he said.