Okwemba confident as Koyonzo plot Rugby 7s school games title comeback on home soil

Koyonzo Boys Rugby 7’s head coach Eliud Okwemba is optimistic about reclaiming their national title in this year’s Term Two School Games.

The former national and East African champions are preparing for the Scrummage tournament this weekend in Kakamega, to gauge their ability ahead of the national games.

“We have been champions before and we know what it takes to be a champion. We are the Western region reigning champions and we will do everything to make sure we lift the title,” Okwemba told Citizen Digital.

Okwemba, the 2023 SOYA Award winner, has fired warning shots to those who are ruling them out of contention for the title, promising to give them a shocker.

Koyonzo are eyeing a third national title after dominating in 2022 and 2023, before relinquishing the crown to Bwake Boys last year.

The two-time national champions were shocked by Bwake 10-05 in the quarter-finals, with Okwemba admitting that sickness in the camp halted their title defense.

“We failed to defend our title not because we were bad, but we had a couple of key players who were sick prior to the Bwake game. We had beaten the East African champions Vihiga in the regional games and that shows the quality we had. We will be back with a bang,” noted Okwemba.

The experienced tactician believes Kakamega County hosting both the national and the East African games will motivate the boys to deliver on home turf.

Kakamega hosted the national competitions when Koyonzo last swept every title from the sub-county to the national level before lifting their maiden East African title in Huye, Rwanda.

Okwemba is keen to repeat the feat this year and will have to overcome stiff competition from regional giants Vihiga High School, who are fresh from lifting the national Rugby 15s title, and the reigning national champions Bwake Boys.

The Term Two games, which consist of Rugby 7s, football, basketball 3x3, volleyball, netball among others, have already begun at the Zonal level in different regions.