Big guns given bye to Enterprise Cup quarter-finals

Newly-crowned Kenya Cup champions Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) are among four teams that have earned byes to the quarter-finals of the Enterprise Cup rugby tournament that starts on Saturday.

The other teams exempted from pre-quarterfinal matches that will be played Saturday are Kabras Sugar, who lost the Kenya Cup title to KCB, Strathmore Leos and Impala Saracens.

HOLDERS KCB

The bankers are Enterprise Cup defending champions, having beaten Kabras Sugar 24-12 in last year’s final. Kabras Sugar had edged Impala 24-5, while KCB silenced Strathmore Leos 22-0 in the semi-finals.

KCB will face the winner of the match between Mwamba and Kenyatta University’s Blak Blad. The two teams will meet at Railway Club, while Kabras Sugar will meet either Nondescripts or Mean Machine from the University of Nairobi.

Kenya Harlequin will take on Nakuru at the RFUEA grounds, with the winner of the match playing Impala Saracens while Strathmore Leos await the winner of the match between Homeboyz and Western Bulls set for Bullring, Kakamega.

The clash between 10 times champions Quins, who are chasing their first title since 2011 and Nakuru, who have won the diadem six times, will be the centre of attraction on Saturday at the RFUEA grounds. The Great Rift side won Enterprise Cup title last in 2014.

Quins and Nakuru last met during the just ended Kenya Cup regular season where the Ngong Road-based lads won 33-14. While Quins beat Mwamba 32-31 to reach the semi-finals where they lost to KCB19-12, Nakuru, the 2013, 2014 champions, failed to reach the play-offs, finishing seventh in the log.

“We are looking forward to the match…our aim is to end the season with a trophy after we fell short in Kenya Cup,” said Nakuru coach Enos Otieno, who will welcome centre Brian Maina to the fold. “We shall push to the limit for this one.”

Quins’ forwards coach Dominique Habimana, who won the Enterprise Cup with Nakuru in 2014, said he expects his former side to put in a strong fight.

“It will be a closely contested match where we shall give youngsters an opportunity to prove their worth,” said Habimana.

FIXTURES

Enterprise Cup (Pre-quarterfinals)
Saturday
Blak Blad v Mwamba – Kenyatta University

Nondescripts v Mean Machine – Jamhuri Park

Quins v Nakuru– RFUEA

Western Bulls v Homeboyz – The Bullring

Mwamba Cup

Pre -quarterfinals

Moi University v South Coast Pirates – Eldoret

University of Eldoret v Mombasa – Eldoret

Bungoma Sharks v JKUAT Cougars – Bungoma

Thika v Kenya Methodist University – Thika