Strathmore Leos secured a narrow 27-26 victory over Mwamba RFC to book a place in the Impala Floodlit fifth-place playoff after a tense semi-final clash played at the Impala Club.
Both sides came into the encounter eager to bounce back from spirited quarterfinal displays, and it turned out to be a closely contested affair decided by fine margins.
Strathmore Leos opener
The students dominated the early exchanges and were rewarded in the 15th minute when, off a penalty deep in Mwamba’s red zone, Brian Mwendwa fed Stansilus Shikoli, who powered over for the opening try. The conversion was successful, giving Leos a 7-0 lead.
Mwamba responded swiftly after earning a penalty off a maul, with captain Bruce Shiemi taking a quick tap to score and cut the deficit to 7-5 after Eugene Ojiambo missed the conversion.
Strathmore extended their advantage when Arnold Muita Nyakengo chased down his own grubber and grounded the ball for a converted try, making it 14-5. Ojiambo made amends minutes later, slotting in a penalty to narrow the gap to 14-8, before Muita added another penalty to send Leos 17-8 ahead at halftime.
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Mwamba came out strongly in the second half, and after several missed chances, Ojiambo opted for a penalty, reducing the gap to 17-11. Continued pressure paid off when Mwamba scored in the left corner after a quick shift of play from the ruck, bringing the scores to 17-16.
Leos replied immediately, with Mwendwa taking a quick tap off a penalty to score a converted try for a 24-16 lead. The sides exchanged penalties to bring the scores to 27-19 before Mwamba mounted a late surge.
A last-minute try under the posts, which Mwamba converted, brought them within a point, but Strathmore had done enough to seal the 27-26 win and advance to the fifth-place playoff.
