Menengai Oilers hire consultant in bid to win elusive Kenya Cup title

Two-time Impala Floodlights champions Menengai Oilers are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to finally clinch the Kenya Cup title.

The Nakuru-based side recently brought in a consultant to help map out a strategy aimed at finally clinching the Kenya Cup title that has long eluded them.

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The club, however, declined to reveal the name and details of the specialist.

The Oilers’ collaboration with the consultant coincided with their preparations for the Impala Floodlights final, where they successfully defended their title with a 32-20 victory over Nondies RFC.

Despite the win, the match exposed some areas needing improvement.

The Oilers struggled in set pieces, particularly lineouts and scrums, made the fewest visits inside Nondies’ 22, and conceded the highest number of penalties.

Speaking to Mozzart Sport after the match, head coach Gibson Weru acknowledged the imbalance ,but noted that it was not a cause for alarm.

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“It is not a concern because we played two other matches and we dominated those areas. This week, we were chasing many things in terms of our preparation because we had a consultant with us, trying to map out how we will win Kenya Cup.

The final was part of the preparation, but our focus is on the bigger picture,” he offered.

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Weru admitted that trying to cover too many aspects of the game ahead of the final led to Nondies dominating most set pieces.

He noted that their main focus was not the Floodies title, but rather the bigger Kenya Cup picture.

“Maybe we gave the players a lot of information on things they need to work on at the expense of preparing for the final. But again, we got the win,” he averred.

Indeed, the Oilers capitalized on every opportunity, punishing Nondies’ errors with ruthless efficiency.

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They completed 94% of their tackles and made only seven handling errors compared to Nondies’ 14.

Meanwhile, Nondies demonstrated bravery and structure, controlling 59% of territory and achieving an 80% lineout success rate.

Despite that, their inability to convert dominance into points proved costly.

The Oilers have twice reached the Kenya Cup final in recent seasons, falling narrowly to Kabras RFC in the 2022/23 season (34-28) and losing by a single point in the 2024/25 final (27-26).

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This season, Weru insisted their sole goal is to lift the Kenya Cup trophy.

“I must commend Nondies for a very good final. They deserve more than they got. In terms of efficiency, they were more efficient, but in terms of controlling the game, Nondies were the dominant team.

They carried well, defended well, but our efficiency got us to the line,” Weru said.

“I am very happy that we managed to win, but the way we won, we could have done better. But it is rugby, we take the win and move forward,” he concluded.