Mombasa RFC kept their championship promotion hopes alive with an 18-13 win over Sigalagala in the Nationwide semis qualifier match at the Mombasa Sports Club.
Coming into the clash, Mombasa had seen off Molo RFC on the same grounds a week earlier while Sigalagala went past MKU at the Bull Ring in the championship pre quarter qualifier fixtures.
Mombasa RFC pay tribute
The game started with a minute of silence for the fallen Pwani University students who perished in a grisly accident involving their bus towards the end of the week. The basketball and handball teams were travelling from Mombasa to Eldoret for KUSA games.
The home team were quick to set the ball rolling, Elvis Namusasi slotting in a three pointer from 40 meters out for an early lead. Mombasa would then miss a chance to extend their lead after they lost a scrum deep in Sigalagala territory.
The home side then continued piling pressure and it would soon pay off as Emmanuel Okeya would sell a dummy before slamming his feet on the gas to score the fixture’s opening try. Namusasi maintaining his perfect record from the boot to make the scores 10-0 as the game snaked into the halfway mark of the first stanza.
The Mombasa backline would continue their brilliant display as Brian Opar would then latch onto a Namusasi cross kick before beating one defender to score in the corner. Namusasi would miss the resulting twos to leave scores at 15-0.
Sigalagala got their first points on the board from the boot after an infringement by Mombasa in their 30 meter mark. A Namusasi penalty then made matters 18-3 before center referee Saidi Kenya called for the breather moments later.
The away team started the second half on a high, piling pressure on Mombasa only to be denied after the referee called for a held up after their hooker had tried to bully his way over the white chalk.
Sigalagala then stringed together brilliant phases of attack to score from close range. The resulting conversion went wide to make matters 18-8.
Mombasa RFC join Kitale
The away team then produced another brilliant string of phases to score at the death, making it 18-13 as the referee blew the final whistle.
In Eldoret, Moi Arsonists proceeded to the last four after defeating Makueni 33-15. The hosts took a 21-10 lead to the break before adding 12 points into the semis.
Nationwide Quarters
Administration Police vs Kitale RFC – 1 pm Jomo Kenyatta University Grounds
Jomo Kenyatta University vs Machakos University – 3 pm Jomo Kenyatta University Grounds
Moi University 33-15 Makueni RFC – 3 pm Moi University Grounds
Mombasa RFC 18-13 Sigalagala National Polytechnic – 3 pm Mombasa Sports Club Grounds
