NEWS

2024 Futures Cup: Kampala Giants claim overall title, Bulldozer win Nairobi leg as Rift Valley Lakers bag maiden girls title

By Amanga collins

Posted on December 9, 2024

Kampala Giants were declared the overall winners of the 2024 DBA Africa’s Future Cup despite not participating in the final leg of the tournament held at KCB Sports Club on Sunday, as their tournament was hosted at Kabras on 1st September.

Nairobi Bulldozers emerged victorious in the Nairobi leg. The Bulldozers defeated Nairobi Lightning 10-0 in a closely contested match but later lost 3-0 to Rift Valley Lakers in a game decided by a golden point.

However, Nairobi Lightning’s 17-8 victory over Rift Valley Lakers played to the Bulldozers’ advantage, ensuring they finished ahead of the Lakers in the final standings.

DBA Founder and Chief Operations Officer, Storm Trentham, explained the shift in format for the Futures Cup and expressed gratitude to Kenya Cup sides Kabras RFC, South Coast Pirates, and KCB Rugby for their contributions to the tournament’s success.

“The Futures Cup had to be reformatted at the last minute due to the protests in July, so we had to split it across three venues. We are hugely grateful to Kabras, South Coast Pirates, and KCB, who went above and beyond to ensure the tournaments ran smoothly,” she told Scrummage Africa in an interview.

Trentham highlighted the improvement in standards and praised the performances of the players, referring to the Futures Cup as a showcase of potential future Lionesses.

“Yesterday was a real testament to the coaching development of the regional teams, as the standard had improved greatly from 2023. The girls delivered truly impressive displays of rugby, and there are some budding Lionesses in the pipeline. Thank you to everyone involved in the Futures Cup, including the groundsmen, vendors, Scrummage, Fanaka, and everyone in between, as it takes a lot to produce three successful tournaments,” she added.

In the inaugural Futures Cup Girls category, Rift Valley Lakers delivered a dominant performance to claim the title with a clean sweep of three wins. They opened with a 24-14 comeback victory against Nairobi Bulldozers before defeating Central Avalanche 19-12 in an exciting match that was expected to determine the closest challengers.

The Lakers concluded their campaign with an emphatic 28-0 victory over Western Wanderers. Central Avalanche secured second place after winning two matches, defeating Western Wanderers 29-0 and overpowering Nairobi Bulldozers 38-0.

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Kampala Giants secured the overall title due to their stellar performances in the earlier legs of the tournament, particularly at Kakamega Showground, where they achieved the best points tally and point differential.

This victory marked another milestone for the Giants, who finished as runners-up in the 2023 edition. The 2024 competition featured a revamped format with three legs held in Diani, Kakamega, and Nairobi, providing a platform for regional talent to shine.

In the first leg at Seacrest in Diani, Coastal Tsunami edged Central Avalanche in a closely contested battle. The second leg in Kakamega saw Kampala Giants dominate their opponents. They opened with a 10-5 comeback win against Western Wanderers after conceding an early try but responding with a drop goal and a converted try.

In their second match, the Giants outclassed Nyanza Hurricanes with a 21-0 victory, scoring three converted tries. The final match in Kakamega, a Western Derby between Western Wanderers and Nyanza Hurricanes, ended in an 8-5 win for the Wanderers, decided in the first half by a try and a drop goal, with the Hurricanes managing a single unconverted try.

Scouts attended all three legs and along with this and nominations from coaches, DBA will select a 25 man Dream Team who will tour to Uganda over Easter 2025 to play the Kampala Giants and three other games.