There will be no love lost when rivals Dagoretti High School and Upper Hill School face off in the rugby 15s semi-finals of the Nairobi Region Secondary Schools Term One Games at St Mary’s School Thursday.
On Wednesday, holders Dagoretti aka “Dago”” were too good for Jamhuri High School beating them 32-7 in their quarter-final clash, while Upper Hill secured a dominant 45-6 win over Our Lady of Fatima Secondary School in the second knock-out clash.
The other last four clash will pit Ofafa Jericho High School against Lenana School.
In the last two ties, Ofafa Jericho sent a strong warning to their rivals after an impressive 53-0 win over poor Hospital Hill High School, while Lenana School’s Mean Maroon needed sudden death to defeat nemesis Nairobi School’s Patch Machine 27-24.
Upper Hill coach Eustace Sifuna set the stage for a tense clash by terming Ofafa and not Dagoretti as the team to beat in the competition.
“I think we have a high chance of reaching the final and qualifying for the national games. I have a good squad comprising of Form Three players who are thirsty to succeed,” a bullish Sifuna said.
“Ofafa is the real deal because they have invested heavily and have great team chemistry. In my opinion, they are the favourites,” he added. Sifuna will bank on the duo of scrum-half Joshua Ongeri and back Salim Owino, who masterminded Our Lady of Fatima’s downfall.
His Dagoretti counterpart Emmanuel Okuna, responded: “We do our talking on the pitch and I know the players are fired up to retain their title and go back to the nationals,” Okuna said.
“Since we knocked them (Upper Hill) out of their perch on 2019, they have never recovered and we are ready to extend that dominance,” he added.
Dagoretti had to overcome a scare as Jamhuri took an early 7-0 lead after Dalton Makori raced clear to make the try before successfully converting.
That stung Dagoretti into action and they hit back almost immediately with a two tries from Morgan Opiyo and Albert Austin, with both also making the add-ons for a 14-7 lead at the break.
The title holders extended their dominance in the second half with further tries from skipper Lennox Okoth, Derrick Onyango and Bejil Onyango to complete a remarkable comeback.
Ofafa, the Nairobi Region rugby sevens champions, made light work of Hospital Hill with a ruthless display. Nine players got a try each with David Makutano converting three while Steve Otieno chipped in with one.
In basketball, girls’ champions Olympic High School secured their place in the knock-out stages after topping Pool “F” with two wins.
Former champions Buru Buru Girls Secondary School also got their campaign underway with a resounding 52-0 win over Moi Educational Centre Secondary School in Pool “E”.
