Champions of Nairobi Secondary School Sevens, Upper Hill, are set to stamp their authority in the Nairobi County 7s games slated for Friday at Jamhuri School. It’s the rugby team from Upper Hill that has gained much accolades following fine performances during the preliminaries, and so they have already been tipped to take a berth in the nationals.
Upper Hill’s Dominance
According to the assistant rugby coach at Upper Hill, Eustace Sifuna, his team is confident of going far in the competition. “We are in a good position. The preliminaries went well, but the hard work starts now. We have to be at the top of our game, especially when we get to the quarterfinals,” said Sifuna. In the round of preliminaries, Upper Hill trounced their opponents 54-0 against Aquinas, 68-0 against Eastleigh, and 54-0 against Dandora.
Competition Structure
The competition has a number of pools from which the top two teams will qualify to the quarterfinals.
Pool A
- Upper Hill: Faces Jamhuri, Our Lady of Fatima, and Aquinas.
Pool B
- Lenana School: Competes against Garden Estate, Hospital Hill, and Embakasi Garrison.
Pool C
- Nairobi School: Matches against Mutuini, Moi Forces Academy, and Kibukosya Secondary.
Pool D
- Ofafa Jericho: Battles Dagoreti School, Sunshine, and Ushirika.
Notable Contenders
- Lenana School: Having finished runners-up in the competition last year, Lenana proved their might in the preliminaries, thrashing 76-0 past Kangemi High, 45-0 over Sunshine Secondary, and Drumvale 65-0. His sentiments were captured well by coach Nick Abok, who said, “We are getting to the crucial stage, and we must come up with new tweaks. I believe the boys have enough in the tank to get the job done.”.
- Nairobi School: Unbeaten at the pool stages, with wins over Muhuri Muchiri, Embakasi, and Dagoretti Mixed.
- Ofafa Jericho: The former champions is eyeing ways of staging a strong comeback to winning days.
Path to Nationals
The best two teams from the Nairobi County level will book their slots for the National Term Two ball games slated for Kisii later this month. Any team will eye a slot in the national finals, hence a tight competition ahead.