South Coast Pirates are the winners of the 2023 Memorial George Barbour cup following a three-day event that brought together a total of 8 teams with Pirates playing in division one.
Heading into the final match, the pirates registered a 45-03 win over Buccaneers on day one, before falling to neighbours and arch-rivals Mombasa Rugby 08-03 on Saturday.
South Coast Pirates redemption
Pirates however redeemed themselves with a 30-00 win over Technical University of Mombasa -TUM Marines on Sunday evening.
South Coast PPirates captain receives George Barbour Cup. Photo/Brian Mwenje
Winger Anthony Abonyo was the star of the day against TUM, landing the opener minutes after kickoff, pirates would hold their small lead into the break.
A halftime pep talk from Coach Kevin Amiani saw the Pirates come back a very rejuvenated side, Kenneth Omaset landed a five-pointer before new-singing Brighton Omondi added the twos for a 12-0 lead.
New boy Kelly Akengo extended the hosts’ lead after successfully drilling in a penalty 15-0.
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Pirates captain Charles Okwemba staged an electric run to beat TUM Marines defenders before touching down, Kelly Akengo added the extras 22-0.
The hungry pirates kept knocking on the opponents’ territory, an event that paid off in the dying minutes with new signing Brighton Omondi’s magical run leaving TUM hapless before passing to Abonyo for his day’s brace 30-0.
South Coast Pirates coach
The centre referee however signaled the end of the game to assure the pirates of their victory. The win left softspoken pirates tactician Kevin Amiani the man over the moon.
South Coast Pirates players celebrate. Photo/South Coast Pirates
“We are happy for the win. We fought hard. We have identified our areas of weakness, and we are going to polish on that before the season begins. Our main aim is to climb to the Kenya Cup League, and we will do our best. We thank everyone for making this tournament a success. The next one will be bigger and better,” Amiani told the Scrummage Africa.
The George Barbour Cup is held annually as a way of paying tribute to the club’s founder and first chairman the late George Barbour.
