Shamas Rugby Foundation win Nationwide title

Shamas Rugby Foundation are the new Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) Nationwide league champions after defeating Kabarak University 39-8 in a nationwide finale played at the RFUEA Ground on Saturday 20 November 2021.

Coming into the match, both sides had already secured promotion from the third tier nationwide league into the second tier – KRU Championship – and were only looking for the icing on top of the cake to crown off their promotion exploits. Shamas swept aside Daystar Falcons 17-13 in one of the semifinals as Kabarak University edged Kitale 22-20 in the other pairing to seal the promotion.

In the game, it is Shamas who raced into a 27-0 lead at the interval, landing five tries through Timothy Lugalia, Hamisi Namisi, Jullian Lan, Nielsen Jumba and Smith Ouma with Namisi drilling home a conversion.

Kabarak returned for the second half brimming with confidence and their efforts were rewarded when Emmanuel Mumoki finished off a well worked team try. The ensuing conversion attempt was wide but the varsity students continued to make inroads, putting Shamas on the back foot but they were undone by indecision in the final third.

They fell further behind when Lugalia went over for his second try before Aden Noor drilled home a consolation penalty for Kabarak. Shamas then sealed the result with incisive running and a center post try from inside center Godfrey Kisero with Namisi converting for the full time score.

Both teams, who replace Kisii RFC and Mombasa RFC, will play in the 2021/22 KRU Championship which kicks off on 27 November.

Additional reporting by KRU