news-engine

← sport

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.