Dala 7s defending Champions KCB Rugby, Mwamba Rugby Club, Homeboyz and Menengai Oilers are through to the tournament’s semi-final set for Jomo Kenyatta Stadium Mamboleo in Kisumu County.
The bankers and Menengai Oilers will be making their fourth consecutive semi-final appearance this season. KCB Rugby will face Menengai Oilers in the semis for the fourth time in a row this season. Homeboyz will tackle Mwamba Rugby Club in what will be a repeat of the Driftwood 7s semi-final which Mwamba won.
Mwamba qualified for the semis, registering a 24-5 win against MMUST in the first quarter-final. An impressive try from former MMUST player Samuel Mbeche took the lead for the men in black. Joel Inzuga and Elvis Namusasi added more tries that saw the team win on a high.
MMUST have failed to qualify for the semis for the second time in a row this season and dropped to the fifth place playoffs.
Homeboyz beat Strathmore Leos 12-7 to reach the third semi-final this season. Amon Wamalwa’s try would be the only one in the opening half. It gave the Deejayz a slim advantage. Strathmore responded well in the second half with a five-pointer that was successfully converted by Stephen Osumba, bringing the scores to 7-5. Homeboyz’ captain Jan Remke struck back to give the Deejayz relief. Brian Juma added the extras before the end of the match for a 12-7 score. Strathmore will miss out on the semis for the second time this season.
In the third quarter-final, Menengai Oilers knew a win could send them on their way to being crowned champions in Kisumu. They saw off Nondies for the second time in a row this season to reach the semis. They beat the Rangers 12-10 to reach the last four.
Dennis Abukuse burst through Nondies defence to notch the first try for Gibson Weru’s side. Mark Kwemoi added the extras. Nondies mastered a stirring comeback to score a juicy try that went unconverted. From the bench, Beldad Ogeta sparked a try in the corner early in the second half. Ben Salem responded for Nondies, but the conversion was off the boot for Ian Mabwa.
Catholic Monks’ bid to qualify for the first ever semis this season got off to a bad start as they failed to go past the Bankers. Mickey Wanjala went under the posts for KCB in the opening try of the first half, and Isaac Njoroge converted for a 7-0 win.
Another converted try followed before Bob Muhati was set up by Elphas Adunga for KCB’s third try taking the scores to 19-0 at half-time. In the second half, Brian Wahinya touched down the whitewash to confirm KCB’s lead. Monks would respond with a converted try to bring the scores to 26-7. A wonderfully worked out try by Elvis Olukusi, converted by Shaban Ahmed was enough to send KCB to the final four.
MMUST will tackle Strathmore Leos in the fifth place semis as Nondies plays Catholic Monks.
Challenge Trophy
Nakuru won 21-7 against Daystar Falcons in the challenge Trophy quarters and will Impala in the semis. Impala won the second challenge trophy during sudden death. Quins and Impala shared a 12-12 spoil at the full time before Impala drilled in three points to take the lead.
Kabras won 24-14 against Kisumu to book a date with Blak Blad in the second Challenge Trophy semis. Blak Blad scored last-minute tries to win against a notorious Zetech in the Challenge Trophy, in what was a Thika-Road derby.
Zetech came in firing in the opening minutes of the game, scoring two converted tries. Blad would then take over the second half with three tries and a conversion to register a 17-14 win. Blad will face Kisumu in the second challenge trophy quarters. William Motto’s side have booked a place in the semis
