MMUST ready for life in the Championship after relegation

MMUST RFC head coach John Asila is optimistic that his team will cope well in the Kenya Rugby Union championship league after they suffered relegation to the second-tier last season.

MMUST will commence their championship campaign with a university derby against Mean Machine, and Asila says his team has had good preparations in the off-season.

“The preparations have been good; we started on time; last season, we learned a hard lesson by suffering relegation.

“I think the boys understand our little mistakes, and they’ve corrected them.

“We are not changing much with what we did because it was working; we are just going to improve a little, and for now, we are very much on track.”

Asila, who took over the reins at MMUST RFC after Dr. Ochieng Ahaya left the role to work as the development director at KRU, says the championship will be tougher than the Kenya Cup, but his boys are ready for battle.

“Championship for me at times, I think it's tougher than the Kenya Cup, and this is a testament to how big teams like Nondies and Impala struggled over there for two or three years, so it’s not an easy league.

“So, we understand that all teams would want to beat us, but the boys are ready; we have the experience and the hunger to do it right.”

They have added a couple of new signings to beef up the squad ahead of a grueling season, and Asila says the new boys have brought a much-needed boost to the team.

“We had some new players during the transfer season.

“We have Flavia Metio and Emmanuel Sakwa from Machine (Mean Machine), and we have young guys from high school who have come in and are working very hard.

“So, we have some new guys coming in, and I think they have settled well; it's just now to convert their 7s form to the 15s version of the game.”

MMUST will host the University of Nairobi’s Mean Machine on Saturday, 16th November 2024, at the Masinde Muliro grounds.

In other fixtures, Cuea Monks will play Tum Marines, Homeboyz will take on newly promoted Zetech Oaks, as Daystar Falcons battle USIU Martial in Athi River.

Western Bulls will welcome UOE Trojans at their Bull Ring Arena, as JKUAT Cougars play Mombasa RFC in Juja.