KCB claim history after clinching ninth Floodies title
Reading Time: 2min | Sat. 12.11.22. | 21:58
The Bankers bagged two tries in the game as Nondies finished try-less.
Reigning Impala Floodlight champions KCB RFC picked up some piece of history by becoming the record tournament champions after overcoming a resilient Nondescript side 20-3 in an utterly entertaining final staged at the Impala Club.
The Bankers now have nine titles, one more than Mean Machine who claimed a four peat in the early 90s as KCB also made it four titles in a row.
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KCB punched a ticket to the final following hard fought wins over Kenya Harlequin in the quarters with a narrow 14-10 scoreline and were also made to sweat in the last four by Kenyatta University's Blak Blad, emerging with a 14-3 win.
Nondies on the other hand had an impressive route to the final after whitewashing fellow Championship side Impala Saracens 33-7 and beat last season's Kenya Cup runners up Menengai Oilers 16-11 in the semis.
The game was off to a feisty start as both teams looked to charge the large multitude of fans who packed Impala Club to the rafters and also treat the fans to an enthralling game after Kenya Simba's whitewash in the 2023 Rugby World Cup qualifiers which dashed the country's hopes of featuring in the intercontinental tourney.
KCB drew first blood in the opening 10 minutes as they opted to put points on board with Ian Njoroge splitting the sticks to hand the Bankers an early 3-0 lead.
Curtis Olago's side came close to grabbing the first try of the game but coughed up the ball twice as the resolute Nondies defense stood tall at everything that was thrown at them.
Nondies tried to get points on board but missed a penalty that would have drawn things level and could also not find the mark with a drop kick that just sailed wide as KCB went into the break with a 3-0 lead.
Callum Oliver's charges started the second half like a house on fire and drew level through the boot of Ben Salem after Calvin Shuenda had initially missed a penalty.
The Nondies three points awakened the beast out of KCB as they first sloted in a penalty to sail ahead and landed a try that was converted by Njoroge for a 13-3 lead.
The tournament's reigning champions just had time for a last try in the dying minutes of the game after camping on the Nondies five meter line with some sustained pressure to claim a 20-3 win.
