Rugby 15s action between Cardinal Otunga and Mbarara High School. /ANGWENYI GICHANA
Cardinal Otunga Senior School Mosocho took a major step towards winning the Federation of East Africa Schools Sports Association (FEASSA) rugby 7s title after extending their unbeaten run in Morogoro, Tanzania, on Saturday.
The Nyanza region champions and national runners-up produced two impressive comebacks at Sokoine University of Agriculture, beating national champions Butula Boys 17-14 before edging Uganda’s Mbarara High 17-15.
The victory over Butula was particularly satisfying for Cardinal Otunga, who suffered a 26-0 defeat to the Busia side in the national final at M-Pesa Foundation Academy two weeks ago.
They had earlier beaten fellow Kenyans Friends School Bokoli 12-0 and Tanzania’s Elerai 31-5.
Cardinal Otunga will be crowned champions if they win their final two matches against Uganda’s Busoga College and Makerere College on Monday.
Coach Edwin Metobo was delighted with his players’ performance but urged them to remain focused.
“I want to appreciate the boys for the good job they have done so far; they have ticked all the boxes so far. It’s not yet over because we have two more games to go. We want to finish strong on Monday,” said Metobo.
He added: “We are done with our compatriots from Kenya. We are not underrating the Ugandans at all.”
The competition is being played on a round-robin format.
Butula recovered from their loss to Cardinal Otunga by thrashing Busoga College 40-0, while Bokoli blanked Tanzania’s Elerai 40-0.
In rugby 15s, defending champions Kisii School and national champions Upper Hill School maintained their winning starts with second consecutive victories.
Upper Hill crushed Namilyango College 52-0, while Kisii School defeated St Mary’s Kisubi 17-0. St Mary’s School Yala also registered a 50-0 win over Tanzania’s Elerai.
In girls’ rugby 15s, national champions Kinale Girls continued their impressive run with a 24-8 victory over St Joseph’s Kitale.
Kinale’s 7s side bounced back from a 12-10 defeat by defending champions Jinja to beat compatriots Kimobo 29-0. They followed that with a 45-0 thrashing of Tanzania’s Murongoine, while Kimobo upset Jinja 15-5.
In boys’ volleyball, ACK Chepsaita recovered from their opening-day defeat by beating Tanzania’s Kajunjumele 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-22).
National champions Chesamisi Boys, however, suffered their second Group A defeat after losing 3-1 to Uganda’s Bukedea Comprehensive School. Chesamisi won the opening set 25-23 before dropping the next three 22-25, 18-25 and 14-25.
Matiliku also lost their second successive match, going down 3-1 (25-19, 25-16, 24-26, 25-23) to hosts Lumala.
In football, Kakamega School’s Green Commandos suffered their second defeat after losing 1-0 to Urambo Day in Group C, with Kingston Mwalima scoring the decisive goal.
St Mary’s Yala were held to a goalless draw by Morogoro Secondary School, while St Joseph’s Girls also settled for a barren draw against Uganda’s Amus College.
