Upper Hill stun Nairobi School to lift rugby title

Upper Hill signalled their intent to reclaim their title from the onset with Harrison Kombe dodging past Nairobi School's defence to score in the 11th minute. Benjamin Libbock made no mistake in converting to give them a 7-0 lead.

Nairobi School responded four minutes later after a foul play from Upper Hill with Clive Simiyu scoring a brilliant penalty to make the tie 7-3.

Their celebration only lasted five minutes as Hosea Simiyu strolled past Nairobi's defence on the far-right end to score his team's second try, extending their lead to 12-3 going into the halftime break.

Upper Hill came with a different gear in the second half, scoring a whooping 31-00, you'd think they were using their first half to rehearse on giving their rivals a proper beating.

Jackson Otieno and Abdalla Mohammed scored a try each in a space of four minutes in the early embers of second half with Benjamin Libbock converting to extend their lead to 26-03. Jeremiah Otieno would add one 10 minutes later to make the score 33-03.

Captain Livingstone Odhiambo took the ball halfway line tossing past Nairobi School players with his lightning speed and dummies to score his team’s sixth try with Micheal Carrick making no mistake from conversion.

Micheal Irungu added the seventh at the death to complete Nairobi’s baptism by fire in the hot afternoon. Irungu had left Nairobi’s Christopher Munene for dead with a classic dummy on the edge of the left side of the pitch to perfectly slot home before the whistle blew.

The Nairobi region powerhouse was ascending to the title after four years in the cold and falling short last year when they lost 6-5 to bitter rivals Lenana.  

Upper Hill’s head coach Newton Mose was awed by his boys’ emphatic win, noting their tactical approach to the game to have won them the tie.

“I’m happy we have been able to reclaim our title. It has come from sheer hard work and the game plan we executed today. We avoided contact, opened up spaces and scored the tries,” Mose told Citizen Digital.

“We are going to prepare well for the nationals and ensure that we also bag the national title.”

His Nairobi counterpart Mwangi Karimi congratulated his boys despite the loss and promised to come back strong next year.

“We are going to polish our boys; they are young and they are in the process of learning. We will come back better,” said Karimi.

Hockey had new champions in both categories after Nairobi School and Pangani girls relinquished their title.

Hospital Hill ascended to the boys’ title after thumping Lenana School 4-2 in post-match penalties following a 0-0 draw.

The Nyari Boys’ attackers were contained well by Lenana’s defenders denying them any goal despite being ruthless throughout the tournament.

They had the last laugh in the end, lifting their first regional title to announce their presence in style.

Head coach John Kaloti was elated after their triumph, congratulating Lenana after making them toil for the title.

“It has been a tough final and I’m happy we won. We didn’t expect a draw and I congratulate Lenana for their fighting spirit. In the end we won but learnt a lot from them. Going to the nationals, we will put in a show so our opponents have to be ready,” noted Kaloti.

In the girls’ final, Mwiki reclaimed their title after edging Hillcrest Academy 3-2 in post-match penalties following a thrilling 3-3 draw.

The Osinde-led side found themselves in trouble after going down two goals before half-time, but they put in a different show in the second half to force a 3-3 draw.

MVP Joan Muria’s brilliance was needed yet again as she nicked home an equalizer, three minutes after Margaret Wangoi had pulled one back for Mwiki in the early embers of the second half.

Melphine Nyongesa put Mwiki ahead but their lapse in concentration saw Hillcrest equalize to force penalties.

Mwiki calmly converted their penalties to lift their title after crumbling to Pangani in a similar show last year.

“My girls crumbled under pressure in the first two quarters but we talked to them at half-time and when they got their confidence back, they had their game back. They scored the three goals and although Hillcrest forced us into penalties, we had trained for them and that’s why we won the game,” head coach Wesley Osinde told Citizen Digital.

An elated Muria echoed her coach’s comments noting they were determined to come back after half-time talk.

“We got our confidence back after our coaches talked to us and got the three goals. I’m happy to continue helping my team and I believe we will put in a good show at the nationals and bring the title home,” said Muria.

Handball boys had new champions after Highway dug deep to stun reigning champions Hospital Hill 26-25 in extra time.

Hospital Hill came from two goals down and scored two goals in a minute at the death to force a 24-24 draw, sending the game into extra play.

Highway did not give up their title hopes after failing four times against the reigning champions, this time they held on their nerves to stun the 2023 national champions.

It was a thorn in the flesh for Nyari Boys who were eager to proceed to the nationals to reclaim their crown, but a moment of joy for Highway who had seen the regional crown slip away four consecutive years.

Assistant coach Fidel Osudo could not hide his joy after bagging the title.

“We are so elated for the win, they have been beating us but today was our chance to ascend to the title. We really worked for this win, it has not been easy. We now have to prepare and win the national crown,” said Abenga.

Dagoretti Mixed defended the girls’ crown after dispatching rivals Highridge 42-12 in what was like a one-sided final.

Basketball boys saw Dagoretti high successfully defend their regional crown after lifting Nairobi School off their canvas, spanking them 65-34.

Girls’ contest had a new champion after Olympic high school stunned defending champions Buruburu girls 35-33 in a topsy-turvy affair.