Kisii RFC appoint new head coach as KRU nationwide season gets underway

Kisii School head coach Lee Astone has been named the new Kisii Rugby Head Coach as the new Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) nationwide season kicked off in various venues across the country.

Astone takes over the reins from Eric Bosire who ascends to the position of chairman.

In an exclusive with Mozzart Sport, the audibly excited Astone noted that he was keen to propel the club to new heights. Kisii RFC was promoted to the Kenya Cup in 2017 and featured in the top-tier league for just a season. They were relegated to KRU Championship and later KRU Nationwide in the 2018-19 season.

"I am excited, but it is a very hard task, given what Kisii RFC has achieved in the past," Astone noted.

Kenya Cup: Big boys Kabras and KCB start campaign on a high

He emphasized that Kisii RFC is currently undergoing a rebuilding phase. Acknowledging the need for transformation, he remained confident that this season would serve as the foundation of a stronger team.

"We are going through a rebuilding phase and we are going through it procedurally. I'm so excited to work with this group of very talented lads and hope to get the best out of every one of them," he averred.

At the same time, Enock Bogonko Gekanana has been appointed the club's treasurer, with Bob Onchong'a being tasked with team managerial duties. Edward Sokoine will assist Coach Astone in executing his duties while Geoffrey Okioga will be in charge of the strength and conditioning department. George Sagini was handed secretarial duties.

Astone started his job on a high, leading Kisii RFC to defeat Maseno University 26-0 in the match played at the Kisii School on Saturday. They will be looking to extend their fine run to earn promotion to the KRU Championship league.

Meanwhile, Shamberere Technical Training Institute seemed to have picked the necessary lessons from their 61-0 defeat at the hands of Kabras RFC in the Lake Victoria 15s preseason tournament. They saw off Mbale RFC 12-7 in the closely contested match.

Bungoma RFC also heaped a 53-0 misery on Borderrucks with Kibabii University downing Kimobo 46-13.

Nationwide Western Results

Kibabii 46 – 13 Kimobo

Shamberere 12 – 07 Mbale RFC

Borderrucks 00 – 53 Bungoma RFC

Webuye RFC 24 – 20 Vihiga Granites

Kisii RFC 26 – 00 Maseno University

Homabay RFC 28 – 00 Citam Kisumu

Rongo RFC 17 – 12 Kifaru

Nationwide Nairobi Results

Machakos Un 10 – 12 NYS Spades

MKU Nairobi 00 – 28 AP

Coop 13 – 16 PUEA

KCA University 17 – 11 TUK

MMU 28 – 00 Africa Nazarene

Makueni RFC 16 - 07 Swara

Ngong 28 – 00 Shamas

Stallions vs Masaku RFC – PP

Stingers RFC 28 – 00 Dagoretti