NAIROBI, Kenya, March 4 – Kenya’s most prestigious rugby knockout tournament the Enterprise Cup is upon us with potentially intriguing clashes set for Saturday.Kenya Harlequin FC and Kenya Commercial Bank meet for a second time in a week. The two sides played out a 19-19 on the final day of the Kenya Cup but the dynamics will surely change when they step on to the RFUEA turf.
Quins won the 2009 Enterprise Cup with a 19-6 final win over Impala and will be out to get the better of the bankers, whom they have dominated in a series of closely contested matches stretching back to Saturday 17th April 2010 when they beat them 26-21 to claim the 2010 Kenya. They followed this up with a 30-24 result before last weekend’s draw.
KCB on the other hand will seek to start their campaign by setting the record straight against a side that they know only too well .This is a cup tie, and as previously mentioned, a winner has to be determined within eighty minutes of play.
Nakuru host Strathmore Leaos bearing all the hallmarks of an explosive tie. Playing in front of their fanatical supporters, a full strength Nakuru will be tough nuts to crack at home. Extra motivation for the Wanyore is avenging the 29-10 Kenya Cup first leg loss to Strathmore. What better way to do it, the Enterprise provides that perfect opportunity for the 2008 champions to do so.
Strathmore ended their Kenya Cup campaign having hit a rich vein of form that saw them win two of their last three fixtures and they would like to take this form into the Enterprise Cup. They will definitely draw inspiration from their first leg result in Nakuru as they launch their bid for a first fifteens trophy at Kenya’s highest club level.
The winner of this tie meets the victor between Quins v KCB in the semis
Impala face Mean Machine at the Impala Club, gunning for nothing short of victory and a semi final berth.
With only eighty minutes to do their thing, Machine will be no pushovers and will give as good as they get. Such is the beauty of cup competitions for they usually provide you with a season’s worth of excitement within such a restricted time frame. It could turn out to be a closely contested duel.
Mwamba take on Nondies whom they have had total dominance during the just ended Kenya Cup league, doing the double against the white shirts. They will go for nothing short of victory when they meet Nondies for the second time in seven days. Can Nondies stop Mwamba and book a semi final berth against the Impala/Machine winner?
Enterprise Cup Quarter Final Fixtures
Kenya Harlequin FC v Kenya Commercial Bank
Nakuru RFC v Strathmore Leos
Impala RFC v Mean Machine RFC
Mwamba RFC v Nondies
Mwamba Cup
Homeboyz v Mombasa
Impala II v USIU
KCB II v Mwamba II
Machine II v Kisumu