Trojans, the University of Eldoret (UoE) rugby team will be hoping to win the inaugural Kenya Universities Sports Association (KUSA) 15-a-side title set to kick off in two weeks time.
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UOE, who finished 5th in the KUSA sevens that ended last month at University of Nairobi grounds following five meetings across the country, will be hoping to perform well in the championships after they failed to perform well during the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) championships last season.
Head coach Kelvin Mwisheni is optimistic that once the pooling has been made, they will be able to know their opponents and make sure they top the pool now that there will be two pools only with top two advancing.
“We are hoping to claim the first title of the tournament after we failed to win the sevens. Now we are training a lot, hitting the gym and trying to incorporate young players into the team,” said Mwisheni.
With eight teams registered to play in the tournament, Mwisheni was confident that they will top the pool and progress to the finals.
“For us to progress, we need to top the pool. With the tournament playing in a round robin, a win in each match will be very crucial for us,” added Mwisheni.
Blak Blad won the 2018 sevens series title after scooping three out of five meetings across the country. KU lost to Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) in the series opener at Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT) before winning back to back titles at TUM and Kaimosi meetings. Mean machine were the champions at Egerton University after beating the hosts and KU went ahead to clinch the final leg at UoN ground.
According to Mwisheni, the teams that finished on top of the table were more experienced than them but this time, they have vowed to make a difference.
“All teams that finished ahead of us were experienced sides even playing at the KRU sevens series. They knew what they were doing in the circuit but we are preparing well for the 15s,” added Mwisheni.
The tournament kicks off on 29th September to 27th October 2018, with two pools and the winners in each pool will then play second placed in the opposing pool at the semi-final on October 20th. Semifinal losers will fight for third and 4th place playoff on October 27th.
Mean Machine will host the first leg before CUEA, United States International University (USIU) and KU while Egerton will be hosting the semifinals and the finals will be back at UoN