Menengai Oilers humiliated KCB Rugby at KCB Sports Club to pick a 31-8 win to book their second ever Kenya Cup final appearance against Kabras RFC.
It was their biggest result against the Bankers, having suffered three losses out of the last four semi-final meetings. They will face Kabras in both the Kenya Cup and Enterprise Cup finals.
Menengai Oilers lead
Oilers had the first chance to go ahead from the penalty spot, only for Timothy Omela’s attempt from the right to sway slightly off to the left as the game was stopped to control a surging crowd early on.
A chip behind the defence line would find Samuel Ovwamu, who carried the visitors into the KCB 22 phases later ,and Nelson Makokha would peel from the back of a maul to burge over for the game’s first try, Omela accurate this time round for an early 7-0 lead for the visitors.
Oilers who were dominating forward football would now hit home from close range once again. Fortune Arturo was the beneficiary from the back of yet another maul as Omela’s extra two made it 14-0 for the visitors.
The Bankers scored next, Andy Cole running a beautiful support line to receive Austin Sikutwa’s offload to score near the corner. Sikutwa’s follow attempt at adding the two’s unsuccesfull to leave it at 14-5.
Omela would extend the Oilers’ lead from the boot after KCB were deemed offside once again to make it 17-5 with close to a quarter an hour of the first stanza left to play.
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Momentum would swing to the Bankers, camping in the Oilers’ m’ five eter line for prolonged periods to no avail. First, there was a hold-up and a penalty in the ensuing scrum contest, allowing the Oilers to clear their lines.
Omela would miss an attempt from 40 or so meters out before converting a second penalty, this time from a closer range for a 20-5 lead, the first half in its dying stages now.
A Michael Opondo chip behind the Oilers’ defence would need the intervention of a covering Ovwamu to avert the danger. Sikutwa would slot in another three after the referee called back play for offside, scoring 20-8 at the half-time whistle.
The opening of the second half would prove cagey, the Bankers determined to overturn the status quo while Oilers who were seeing the better chances of the two worked overtime to fortify their defence.
The first clear scoring chance would fall the visitors’ way, only for Omela’s kick to sway off to the right with the second stanza well past the halfway mark.
A rejuvenated Bankers would then probe on, profiting from the fresh legs of substitute scrumhalf Jenkins Kipruto to speed up play into Oilers 22, only for Kipruto to knock on attempting a quick ball off a busy ruck, once again impeding any forward go.
The Bankers would lose another attacking lineout just outside Oilers’ five, characteristic of an error-filled afternoon for the Bankers as Omela slotted two further penalties to make it 26-5 with less than five minutes of regulation time left to play.
Crispin Shitundo would score Oilers’ final try after fly-half Samuel Mwaura did most of the work, first a goosey to leave the defence in his wake before sending a grabber for Shitundo, a supporting line to score to make for a 31-8 full-time score.
