KCB Rugby once again had to settle for the Impala Floodlit Plate after whipping Strathmore Leos 47-12 in the fifth-place playoff at Impala Club on Saturday.
This was a repeat of last year’s Plate Final face-off, where KCB ran riot against Strathmore Leos, thrashing them 74-5 at the same venue to claim the Plate title. Heading into this year’s edition, KCB had thrashed Kenya Harlequin 64-10, while the Leos had edged Mwamba 27-26.
KCB Rugby start
The Bankers started strongly, taking a 26-12 lead into the break. The first try came off a scrum after shoving it forward for several metres, with Samuel Asati picking the ball and delivering a pass to centre Tyson Maina, who dived over for the opening try of the match. Brian Wahinya converted to make it 7-0.
KCB were at it again soon after, with Vincent Onyala crossing over and Wahinya adding the extras for a 14-0 lead. The Bankers then stretched their advantage to 21 points with a try at the left corner, Wahinya again accurate with his conversion.
The fourth try came from John Aswani, who returned to haunt his former side. Asati set him up with a long pass before he burst through the defence and sprinted to dive over, extending the lead to 26-0.
The students began to fight back when they were restored to 15 men, as Collins Maina made a break on the left wing to score their opening try.
Before halftime, Elton Amalemba charged down Asati’s up-and-under attempt and raced clear for a try that reduced the deficit to 26-12 at the break.
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In the second half, Dominic Sande showed power as he beat his markers on the left side to score, with Wahinya converting from a tight angle to push KCB to 33 points.
KCB grabbed another try to move to 40 points after a dominant scrum, with Maina receiving the final pass to dive over. The try was converted for a 40-12 lead.
After withstanding pressure from Strathmore, who were eager to score, KCB turned defence into attack as Mike Wekesa raced over 50 metres to touch down. Osumba converted to seal a comprehensive 47-12 victory for the Bankers.
