Upper Hill School celebrate after lifting the national 15s title /ANGWENYI GICHANABy Sports Desk Kenya’s rugby 15s powerhouses Upper Hill School and St Mary’s School Yala will renew their rivalry with defending champions Kisii School as the battle for East Africa supremacy gets underway at the Federation of East Africa Schools Sports Association (FEASSA) Games in Morogoro, Tanzania, on Friday.
Kisii School will be seeking to retain the title they won for the first time in Kakamega last year after beating All Saints Embu 11-6 in the final.
But Upper Hill arrive in Tanzania as the national champions after edging Kisii 15-8 in the KCB Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) championships in Kisumu in April.
The three Kenyan sides headline a six-team rugby 15s competition that also features Uganda’s Jinja Secondary School, St Mary’s College Kisubi and Namilyango College.
Tanzania’s Elerai Secondary School will make its debut at the regional showpiece. The competition will be played on a round-robin basis, with each team playing six matches over 10 days.
Upper Hill coach Eustace Sifuna is confident his charges can reclaim the regional crown they last won in 2018 in Musanze, Rwanda.
“As national champions, we intend to win the East Africa title. Since we are playing in a round-robin format, we shall only play six games. We want to win all the games and lift the title,” said Sifuna.
“I know all the teams have had good preparations, but as Upper Hill, we are not afraid of any team.”
The Nairobi side warmed up for the regional championship with a 27-14 victory over Scotland’s Dollar Academy before crushing Upper Hill Old Boys 85-0.
Yala coach Shellan Nyawira is equally bullish, predicting a Kenyan clean sweep of the medals.
“I don’t think Ugandan teams will match our fitness, skills and tactics. It will be a Kenyan 1-2-3. At the Mighty Colts, we are ready to lift the trophy,” said Nyawira.
She added: “The beauty of this year’s competition is that we are playing a round-robin, six games in 10 days. This will give teams enough time to rest and prepare for the next game.”
Yala lost to Upper Hill in the group stage of the national championships before falling to Kisii in the semi-finals.
Kisii coach Edwin Morara, however, warned his rivals against writing off the defending champions.
“I’m 100 per cent confident that we shall defend our title. We are done with the extensive part of the training ahead of our departure on Tuesday,” said Morara.
He said their national final defeat had provided valuable lessons. “Since we lost the national final against Upper Hill, we have been working on our mental strength, attack patterns and defensive structure. I believe the boys are ready for the championship.”
Kisii also tested themselves against Dollar Academy, narrowly losing 10-8, as they fine-tuned their preparations for the title defence.
