T. NashipaeUoE Trojans aiming for 2023/24 KRU Championship title
Reading Time: 3min | Wed. 20.09.23. | 12:10
The Eldoret-based students won the Division II title after accumulating 77 points.
Fresh from being crowned champions of the Division II of the 2023 National 7s Circuit, University of Eldoret (UoE) Trojans have set lofty goals ahead of the upcoming 2023/24 Kenya Cup season set to kick off in November.
The Eldoret-based students won the Division II title after accumulating 77 points. They finished 17 points ahead of the second-placed Zetech Oaks who had 60 points. Administration Warriors completed the podium with 59 points.
The students have earned automatic qualification into Division I in next year's circuit, and will be looking to tackle bigwigs like Kabras RFC, KCB Rugby, and Menengai Oilers.
Trojans started their circuit in Dala 7s reaching the final stage, but lost to fellow students Zetech Oaks.
They would finish third at the Driftwood 7s in Mombasa before winning the Christie 7s to see them earn qualification to Division I.
They played in Division I of Tisap 7s in Eldoret, but registered rollercoaster of performances to see them drop to their second division.
Despite that, UoE Trojans head coach Sheldon Munoko said that the Division I experience in Eldoret's Tisap 7s gave them the much-needed picture of what to expect when the 2023/24 Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) Championship that, kicks off in November.
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Munoko revealed that the boys were looking to win the overall KRU Championship title.
They will be looking to improve from their performance last season's performance where they finished with 22 points.
"We had a good run in the circuit, coming in first in Division I. It was a good show from the boys. We have already started preparing for the 15s season," Munoko offered.
The coach further observed that the boys were responding well to training after a demanding 7s circuit. He however noted that they needed to hone their physicality levels to match other teams in the KRU Championship season.
They will be up against teams like South Coast Pirates who failed to honor the circuit to prepare for the 15s season.
"So far so good. They are picking up well. We will need to work on our level of skill and physicality to compete better," Munoko told Mozzart Sport.
In preparation for the 15s season, the Trojans will gauge themselves with the Victoria Cup, an inaugural Western Region pre-season tournament which is played in three counties; Kisumu, Kakamega, and Eldoret.
"We are aiming to play the Victoria Cup in order to gauge our skills. We need to be at our best when the season begins," the coach said.
According to Munoko most of his charges are student-athletes. Despite the dual commitment, the coach noted that it presented a serious problem for player retention.
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Players leave the team as they transition to pursue different post-graduation activities.
With that in mind, the team is recruiting young players in an attempt to build depth.
"This time, we have at least 15 new recruits in the team. The young boys will provide the morale and set pace for the team," Munoko said.
As he concluded the visionary coach noted that his main aim was to lead the team to climb the top-tier league.
The Trojans are the only rugby team in Eldoret competing at the Championship level. Moi University Arsonists and Eldoret RFC are in the nationwide league.
