All Saints Embu train guns to reclaim rugby 15s national title

The Benson Mwenda-coached 2024 national champions tightened their stranglehold in the Eastern region after a dominant 29–3 victory over Kitui School in the final held in Meru last weekend.

At the national stage, the Embu-based team are pooled in Group ‘A’ against reigning East Africa champions Kisii School of Nyanza, Nairobi region champions Upper Hill and Kwale Boys from Coast.

Head coach Benson Mwenda is confident the former champions can regain their mojo in this year’s extravaganza and hoist the crown.

“We are working towards reclaiming our title. We slipped a little bit last year and we are hoping we can make an incredible comeback in this year’s competition,” said Mwenda.

The Titans are expected to hit camp on Saturday with intense training planned ahead of the Kisumu trip. This is after they completed their exams on Friday.

“The boys have been taking exams, and we will formally begin training tomorrow, focusing primarily on improving our team's soaking.”

Mwenda is however wary of stiff competition from rivals and has urged his charges against resting on their laurels for the tough task ahead, adding that they will treat each game as a final.

“This year’s competition will be tough and we will have to up our game to the standards of all teams. We are meeting champions from other regions and when champions meet, the games become tough. We will play our hearts out,” added Mwenda.

All Saints lost 13-3 to runner-up Kisii School in last year's semi-finals and Mwenda attributed their loss to the harsh weather.

However, he is optimistic that the weather in Kisumu will play to their advantage.

“Kisumu weather aligns with the weather in this area and we hope it will play to our advantage. The boys will train under wet conditions so that acclimatizing with the weather during the competition is easy for us.”