Upper Hill, Yala collide in FEASSA Rugby 15s decider
The Star · unknown author · 2026-08-21T02:59:09+00:00 · nguồn gốc
Upper Hill
School and St Mary’s School Yala will face off today in a blockbuster
game that will determine the winner of the Federation of East Africa Schools
Sports Association (FEASSA) rugby 15s title.
Upper Hill,
the national champions, lead the standings with 23 points after an unbeaten run
in the competition, which is being played in a round-robin at Sokoine
University of Agriculture (SUA) in Morogoro, Tanzania.
Yala, popularly
known as the Mighty Colts, sit second, two points behind Upper Hill after four
wins and one draw. Yala drew 11-11 against Jinja in their second game.
Defending
champions Kisii School and Uganda champions Jinja Secondary are locked in the
battle for bronze. Jinja is third with 16 points and Kisii School fourth, with
15 points. The two sides will battle it out in today’s last game.
Speaking
ahead of the decider, Upper Hill coach Eustace Sifuna said they want to win the
trophy and establish themselves as a regional rugby force.
“We are
expecting our boys to be pressure-free, create more ball possession and score
more tries. This will help us easily win the trophy,” said Sifuna.
Captain
Chrispinus Wekesa said his colleagues are not under pressure. “We want to
conclude the year with the East Africa title.”
Yala coach
George Kerima said they are ready to battle Upper Hill for the crown.
“We expect a tough game, of course, but our focus
is to lift the trophy. We have known our mistakes, and we hope not to repeat
them against Upper Hill,” said Kerima.
He added: “With
hard work, commitment, resilience, teamwork and belief, it is possible we can
overcome Upper Hill.”
Upper Hill
launched their hunt for the FEASSA title with a 25-12 victory against St Mary’s
Kisubi before easing past Namilyango College 52-0 after a commanding display.
In the third
game, Upper Hill narrowly beat bitter rivals Kisii School 8-5 and had a
resounding 66-0 win over Tanzania’s Elerai in a one-sided match.
On Wednesday,
Upper Hill saw off Jinja Secondary 17-6 to record an impressive fifth win out
of five games.
St Mary’s
Yala made a strong start with a 50-5 thumping of Elerai, but their campaign was
derailed in the second game after battling to an 11-11 draw against Jinja
Secondary.
Yala got
their campaign back on track in the third game after a comfortable 50-0 victory
over Namilyango College before seeing off bitter rivals Kisii School 23-5.
In their
fourth game on Wednesday, Yala defeated St Mary’s Kisubi 38-15 to remain in the
hunt for the title.
At the same
time, debutants Friends School Bokoli settled for silver in rugby 7s after
beating Western region archrivals and national champions Butula Boys 7-5 in a
closely contested match. Butula settled for the bronze medal.
Cardinal
Otunga High School Mosocho won gold after an unbeaten, memorable campaign in
their FEASSA debut. They garnered 18 points while Bokoli had 15 points and
Butula 12.
Kinale Girls
won both the 7s and 15s titles after a memorable campaign. In rugby 15s, Kinale
beat rivals St Joseph’s Girls Kitale and Elerai to win the crown. Kinale had 15
points to win gold, while St Joseph’s Girls settled for silver with 4 points,
and Elerai bagged bronze.
In the
highly competitive girls’ rugby 7s, Kinale emerged winner with Jinja going home
with silver and Kenya’s Friends School Kimobo Secondary bronze. All the teams
tied on seven points and were separated by points difference. They all won two
game and lost one. Tanzania’s Murongoine went home empty-handed.