Ngoko lauds MMUST fighting spirit at Lake Victoria 15s semis

Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) Rugby's Captain Collins Ngoko has praised his teammates' impressive performance in the semifinals of the Lake Victoria 15s preseason tournament played at the Kakamega Showground on Saturday 4 November.

The resilient students saw off Kenya Cup side Kisumu RFC 19-16 in the closely contested semifinal match to cruise to the finals.

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Veron Kaburu opened the scores for the students. They also managed a try as a result of a high tackle inside the try box courtesy of Ryan Makaka with Washington Ombima adding the extras.

"It was a good contest, a tough match that was only decided by the final referee's whistle," Ngoko started.

"We went into the game with our heads high knowing it was going to be a hard match since Kisumu is a good team and the boys were ready for the contest," he noted.

The skipper further insisted that they have shifted their focus to winning the preseason tournament before heading to the 2023/24 Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) championship campaign set to kick off later this month.

"We're now focused on the finals and I believe in the boys and we are ready to clinch the title," he concluded.

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The students will face off with Kenya Cup defending champions Kabras RFC in the final of the Lake Victoria 15s pre-season tournament that is set for November 11.

The Sugar Men booked their place in the 2023 Victoria Cup final after dismantling Sigalagala 43-12.

They entered the match with a bang, taking them only a minute to score through David Bunduki. Erick Cantona's conversion was off.

Twenty minutes into the game, newbie Darrell Ogot was sure with another try that saw the Kabras Sugar-powered team take a 10-0 lead.

Minnows Sigalagala would respond with an unconverted try later to change the scores to 10-5.

The Millers, galvanized, scored the last five-pointer of the opening half courtesy of speedster Duncan Shighadi. Cantona was sure with the conversion this time around to see the halftime scores at 17-5.

In the closing stanza, Kabras scored 26 more points while the students landed a converted try.

The two sides will lock horns at the Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium in Kisumu on November 11.

The final will curtain raise the much-anticipated Elgon Cup pitting Kenya Simbas and Uganda Cranes.