It was a great weekend and an entertaining one as the Kenya Rugby Union Women’s 10 A-side tournament kicked off. Top Fry Nakuru RFC; alias the Wanyoress, cruised to the final with an amazing unbeaten run to claim top spot.
This was the first round of the Kenya Rugby women’s league series, showcasing the best of the 10-a-side competition. A great way to take the game to the fans, with Kenyatta University hosting the opening round.
Action packed pool stages
The day began with action from Pool A, as Resolution Impala Saracens topped the pool after beating Comras Rugby 35-5, and later securing a place in the Cup semifinals by beating Shamas Rugby Foundation 19-0.
Pool B was also an action-packed group, as Nakuru Rugby thrashed the hosts 37-0. The Top Fry Nakuru women’s 10s looked sharp, and they locked in their place in the semis by holding Homeboyz Rugby to a 7-0 tight fought win.
Northern Suburbs started their campaign well, with wins from the newly promoted Kisumu Dolphins and Mwamba RFC 38-0 and 15-5, respectively.
In the lower placed playoffs, Semis Mwamba defeated Kisumu RFC 32-0 as Shamas beat Comras 20-0. In the fifth place final, fans saw Shamas go down 7-20 to Mwamba, to earn points towards the full season of five tournaments. The new side Dolphins lost to Comras, to fall into eighth position in the table.
Hosts the BladBabes started their campaign in a downfall, as they lost all their matches, only winning a friendly against Egerton Hornets to place a smile on their fans faces.
Top Fry Nakuru RFC triumph in first round of Women’s 10s
From there, the Cup semis were hot, and proved which teams had prepared for this new competition. Nakuru crushed the mighty ladies from N. Suburbs, 24-0. It was a much tighter game in the second cup semi, as Impala narrowly booked a place in the final after defeating Homeboyz by only 12-10.
Currently on the pitch, @NakuruRFC ladies taking on @HomeboyzRugby #KRUWomensFestival pic.twitter.com/NdNyCR3GQI
— Kenya Rugby (@OfficialKRU) February 3, 2019
Wanyoress came in the final, with their heads high although, still cautious of the Impala ladies as they are prone to escaping (as the name suggests). It didn’t take long before Racheal Adhiambo giving the Sarries the first try, with Ann Gorreti added the extras. Impala women’s 10s held onto the lead at the half time break.
Wanyoress came back even mightier in the second half, as Maureen Njoki’s sidestepping skills confused the Sarries backs, and going over the white line to the delight of her teammates. Dorcas Nyambura equalized the scoreboard as her conversion was good.
A tight match; as all finals are, but moments before the final whistle, the ever sneaky Vivian Akumu cruised through the defence of Sarries, to give Wanyoress a wonderful 12-7 victory.
In a rousing weekend of matches, the first leg of the Kenyan Rugby women’s series, it proved that all teams had showed focus and fight. The next few rounds will determine if that fight comes from other teams in round two on February 17.
Women’s 10s Ranking after the first leg:
- Nakuru
- Impala
- Homeboyz
- N. Suburbs
- Mwamba
- Shamas
- Comras
- Dolphins
- Bladbabes
- Egerton (yet to join the league)
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