NAIROBI, Kenya, February 25, 2025 – Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) rugby coach Oliver Mang’eni is keen to fix the weak areas of his squad that almost cost them victory against Menengai Oilers, the past weekend.
The tactician says the bankers will have to be at their best if they are to overcome their next opponents, Impala RFC.
“We needed to manage our territories better…manage our setpieces, because that is where the 15s are won. So, we also need to go back to the drawing board and look at what didn’t work, especially with our territories and the scrummages…we really need to work on,” Mang’eni said.
The bankers were made to sweat before ultimately putting Oilers to the sword, courtesy of a 29-27 victory at the Ruaraka Sports Club – otherwise known as the Den.
Coach Gibson Weru’s charges had gone into the breather with a 15-12 lead, having taken the game by the scruff after Elvis Olukusi had given the bankers the lead.
The visitors carried on the same intensity with an early try in the second half but Austine Sikutwa responded with a drop goal for the hosts before Nickson Okullo powered under the post for a 22-22 scoreline.
It was an end-to-end action that saw Oilers surge ahead once more before KCB had the last laugh through Sikutwa’s last-gasp try and conversion.
Mang’eni admitted he was forced into tactical tweaks to handle the slippery Oilers who, until the match, were yet to lose a game in this season’s Kenya Cup.
“The players themselves needed to adjust and adapt to the game at that time. They were loading on the tighthead, which we needed to start thinking about. Next time, we really need to look at our scrums because we were exposed today,” he said.
As the bankers visit Impala, Oilers will be welcoming ‘sister club’ Kabras Sugar RFC for a top-of-the-table clash at the Refinery on Saturday.
