KSSSA: Butula, Kisii share spoils in rugby 15s opener

Butula and Kisii High School played out to a barren draw in a closely contested and physical Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) rugby 15s match played at the muddy Machakos School on Tuesday, April 9.

The last time these two sides met was during the 2023 KSSSA national games in Eldoret, where KSSSA rugby 15s defending champions Butula saw off their opponents 11-8 to go all the way and be crowned the winners.

This time around, Kisii School, which is under the tutelage of Astone Lee and Nelvin Lumiti, was looking to pummel their opponents.

Lumiti said in his post-match remarks that his charges performed as promised, even with the inclement conditions. He, however, lamented over the sorry state of the pitch, noting that it made it difficult for his charges to drill in penalties.

“It was a great performance. As I said before the match, Butula ended our run last year, and we were looking to begin from there. We hope to win the upcoming matches. This year, we hope to proceed to the Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSA) rugby 15s,” he told Mozzart Sport.

At the same time, All Saints Embu staged a last-minute comeback to whip St. Patrick's Iten 27-8.

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In the girls’ category, Madira Girls from the Western region topped Pool A after playing to a barren draw against St. Joseph of Rift Valley.

The latter’s match was stopped at halftime due to the opponents’ conditioning and inability to finish the game. Kivandini claimed the second position, while the Kisumu girls sat at the bottom of the table.

In Pool B, Hidden Talent carried the day with 37 points, while Kinale came in second with 16 points. Paul Harris and Katwanya occupy the third and fourth positions, respectively.

In basketball, Dr. Aggrey was off to a flying start after whipping Pioneer School 37-17 in a closely contested match that ended at dusk.

Although it was not the outcome they had planned, Dr. Aggrey's strategist Kevin Aran expressed his satisfaction at starting the competition on a positive note.

“It has been a great fight. Not what we aimed for, but a win is a win. We now shift focus to the next match,” Aran offered.

All set for national school games in Machakos

KSSSA Day One Collated Results

Rugby 15s girls

1. Kiviadini 00 vs 00 Kisumu Girls

2. Madira 00 vs 00 St Joseph

3. Katwanya 00 vs 17 Kinale

4. Paul Harris (00) vs 16 Hidden Talent

5. St Joseph 28 vs 00 Kivandini

6. Kisumu Girls 00 vs 36 Madira

7. Hidden Talent 21 vs 00 Katwanya

8. Kinale 05 vs 06 Paul Harris

Boys Rugby 15's

Day One collated results.

Kisii School 0-0 Butula Boys.

All Saints Embu 27-8 Saints Patrick's Iten.

Kitondo school 17-16 lenana school

Mang'u School 17-03 Marafa

Basketball Girls

Butere Girls 65–50 Nyakach Girls

Dagoretti126–35 Sabunley

Laiser Hill 73-69 Lukenya

Basketball Boys

Lukenya 67-71 Laiser Hill

Dagoretti High, 126–35 Sabunley.

Pioneer 17 - 37 Dr. Aggrey

Hockey Girls

Nyamira Girls 4-0 Pangani Girls

Tigoi Girls 2-0 Nyayo Girls

Handball Girls

Moi Forces 06–15 Kwathanze

Kamusinga 25–12 Dagoreti

Handege 24-29 Kimilili

Sabunley 9-38 Hospital Hill