Oaks gutted after missing Kenya Cup promotion

Oaks were eyeing to make the Kenya Cup cut for the first time but were thrashed 41-9 by Masinde Muliro University (MMUST) RFC, and Matekwa says they picked up valuable lessons in that loss.

“Our target for this season was to maintain our place in the championship and we thank God we achieved that and even went all the way to the playoffs. We surpassed our expectations and so being in the playoff semis, it was a bonus to our season.

“The boys were ready but MMUST were much more ready than us. For them having been in the championship for two seasons, they knew how to play the semis, it was tough luck on our side and MMUST took full advantage of it.”

Matekwa says the loss deflated his boys’ but they will beef up their training in order to be ready to fight for promotion next season.

“We had a little chat with the boys and they are okay; they've learned a lot and will be better prepared next season. They are not sad, they aren't happy, it's just in between but they've learnt several lessons that will be valuable to us next season. We will try to polish up a few things that we did wrong and we will be ready for next season.”

MMUST RFC have been in the Championship in the last two seasons and their valuable experience in the top tier was crucial in getting promoted back to the Kenya Cup, alongside Daystar Falcons as Mwamba RFC and South Coast Pirates were relegated from the top division.