Blak Blad sweating over fitness of three key players ahead of Kenya Cup quarters
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Reading Time: 4min | Wed. 15.04.26. | 18:02
The two sides renew their rivalry months after a tightly-contested regular season meeting in November 2025
Kenyatta University’s Blak Blad are facing an anxious wait over the fitness of several key players, as they prepare to take on Strathmore Leos in the Kenya Cup quarterfinals on Saturday, 18 April.
The two sides renew their rivalry months after a tightly-contested regular season meeting in November 2025, where Strathmore edged Blad 32-30.
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That result played a role in shaping the final standings, with Strathmore finishing fourth on 36 points, just ahead of Blad, who settled for fifth with 28 points.
Blad’s preparations, however, have been disrupted by injury concerns, most notably to starting fly-half Enock Odour, who picked up a knock in training.
His absence would be a significant blow given his reliability from the boot throughout the campaign.
The university side is also assessing the fitness of Brian Kidake and Edwin Obare, alongside a few other players carrying minor injuries, with the hope that they will be available for selection come match day.
Despite the concerns, head coach Benard Rotich remains proud of his team’s journey this season, even though they narrowly missed out on a home quarterfinal.
“For us, finishing fourth was the goal so that we could host the quarterfinal, but as it turns out, God works differently, and he gave us the fifth position, which is an improvement from last season, and just that we are going away for the game.
I have had a very narrow squad to work with for various reasons, but am proud of the effort each player put to finish fifth, which was in line with the season’s motto Better not bigger,” the gaffer said.
Rotich also pointed to structural challenges that continue to separate the league’s top sides from the chasing pack.
“I begin with inequalities that come with resources, which dictate the caliber of players you will get, and also dictate the player welfare. I think that is something that separates the top three teams from the rest of us largely,” he explained.
On the pitch, inconsistency proved costly for Blad, particularly during crucial moments in matches.
“Performance-wise, what separated us from the top four teams was the inconsistency from us during matches. That can be seen from the first four games, in which we were always trailing and then coming back to win.
If you look at games against them, we played so well for most parts of the game, but 10-15 minutes when we went to sleep cost us big time,” he said.
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That pattern was evident in their earlier meeting with Strathmore, where a slow start ultimately proved decisive.
“Against Strathmore in the first game, we actually let ourselves down by allowing them to score four tries within the first 20 minutes. We had some lapses on defense, scrums weren't okay, and so we put ourselves under a lot of pressure.
I was, however, proud of the effort from the boys in the second half to keep their heads high and put up a good fight,” Rotich noted.
Blad will, however, take encouragement from a two-week break since their last match on March 28, using the period to recover and fine-tune their systems.
The team also arranged a midweek friendly against Mwamba RFC to simulate match conditions.
“I think it’s been a good thing for us; the players have recovered. The break for me was good, especially after a long back-to-back regular season.
For us, recovery was key. We have also tried working on our systems both tactically and technically, and we have been talking about how important this opportunity is to us, considering where the club is now, where we have come from and the group of players we have had,” he explained.
He believes mental strength will be decisive in the knockout clash.
“Our mental strength is what we shall require on the day, plus a bit of controlled emotions to take us through.”
Strathmore will also be without two of their key players, Nygel Amaitsa and Gabriel Ayimba, who are away on international duty with Kenya’s sevens side at the Hong Kong Sevens.
With both sides dealing with key absences, the stage is set for a finely balanced contest, with a semifinal spot and a potential clash against champions Kabras RFC on the line.