There are sporting victories that are measured in points, tries and trophies. Then there are those that transcend the scoreboard.
For Cardinal Otunga High School- Mosocho, a renowned public boys’ boarding national high school founded in 1961 at the request of the late Maurice Cardinal Otunga, a highly revered Kenyan Catholic prelate who made history as the first native Kenyan bishop, archbishop, and cardinal.
Located in Kitutu Central Sub-county, Kisii County, their maiden 2026 FEASSSA rugby 7s title in Morogoro, Tanzania, is more than just a championship. It is the culmination of a decade-long wait, a story of belief, mental resilience, motivation and an administration determined to give its young athletes a platform to thrive.
Just weeks earlier, Cardinal Otunga had suffered heartbreak in Thika. Having won their maiden Nyanza Region 7s title after beating Friends School Anjego 24-0 in the final, the Kisii-based school went on to the KSSSA national championships with high hopes.
They eventually finished runners-up, losing 26-0 to Western Region side Butula Boys in the final. For many teams, such a defeat could have shattered confidence, For Cardinal Otunga, it became fuel.
The trip to Tanzania would offer them an opportunity to write a different chapter.
And write it they did.
Cardinal Otunga announced themselves on their first-ever FEASSSA appearance with a 31-5 victory over hosts Elerai before beating Bokoli from Kenya 12-0.
They then produced one of their most significant performances of the tournament, edging Butula Boys 17-14, a side that had only weeks earlier denied them the national title.
The momentum continued with a narrow 17-15 victory over Uganda’s Mbarara before they dispatched Makerere College 27-7 and finished their campaign in emphatic fashion with a 41-0 win over Busoga College to go unbeaten.
A historic first FEASSSA championship.
But behind the tries and celebrations was a deliberate investment in the boys’ mental fitness and welfare.
Former Kenya 7s and 15s international player Martin Owilah was part of the technical bench as the team’s mental fitness and forwards coach. His presence, he says, helped the players understand that success was not only l about what happened on the field.
Speaking exclusively to Two5four, Owilah praised Cardinal Otunga Chief Principal Dr Ezekiel Okeyo for creating an environment where sport and the welfare of students are treated as important parts of their development.
“The man (Chief Principal) has been intentional with rugby, from supporting sports to issuing scholarships.”
For Owilah, mental preparation played a crucial role in helping the players recover from the disappointment of losing the KSSSA final and approach FEASSSA with renewed belief.
The team had already experienced what proper support could do.
After winning the Nyanza Region 7s title, Dr Okeyo flew the team to Thika for the national championships, a gesture that sent a powerful message to the players that the school believed in them.
That recognition, Owilah says, motivated the boys.
“It was not simply about transport or logistics. It was about making the players feel valued.”
Even small gestures mattered.
At times, the school provided the rugby players with milk after training sessions, another indication of the administration’s attempt to support the team beyond the rugby pitch.
“It motivated the boys,” Owilah said, reflecting on the support they received from the school.
The former international believes Cardinal Otunga’s experience should serve as a lesson to schools and clubs across the country.
According to Owilah, mental health and welfare should not be treated as an afterthought in sports.
His message is simple: invest in the player as a person, not just as an athlete.
The Cardinal Otunga story demonstrates how that approach can pay dividends.
Ten years later, history repeats itself
The FEASSSA triumph also closed a chapter in Cardinal Otunga’s rugby history.
The school had not been at the KSSSA national stage for a decade.
In 2010, former Kenyan international and current KCB assistant coach Jack Ojee captained Cardinal Otunga to the nationals in Embu, where they reached the quarter-finals.
Six years later, in 2016, current Shujaa player and Olympian Samuel Asati captained the school at the national championships, although their campaign ended at the preliminary stage.
A decade later, the 2026 generation has gone a step further.
They have returned Cardinal Otunga to the national stage, delivered the school’s first Nyanza Region 7s crown, represented the school for the first time at FEASSSA and, remarkably, returned home as continental champions.
It is a journey that began with regional success and ended with the school sitting at the top of East African school rugby 7s.
A reward beyond the trophy
The school’s celebrations did not end with the final whistle in Morogoro.
Recognising the magnitude of what the players had achieved, Chief Principal Dr Ezekiel Okeyo rewarded all Form Three students who were part of the historic FEASSSA-winning squad with educational scholarships.
It was a fitting reward for a group that had not only brought glory to the school but had also created a new benchmark for future Cardinal Otunga rugby teams.
For the players, the scholarships represent something bigger than financial assistance, they are a reminder that academic and sporting excellence can go hand in hand.
For Cardinal, the victory was not about the six wins in Morogoro, It is about a school that waited ten years to return to the national stage, a team that turned a painful defeat into motivation, coaches who understood the importance of mental fitness and an administration that backed its players both on and off the pitch.
And perhaps most importantly, it is about young boys who travelled to Tanzania for their first-ever FEASSSA appearance and returned as champions.
Cardinal Otunga High School-Mosocho rugby 7s technical bench that delivered historical maiden FEASSSA 7s title.
Chief Principal- Dr Ezekiel Okeyo
Head Coach Metobo Omweri
Assistant Coach: Eric Bosire
S n C Coach: Edward Sokoine
Mental Fitness Coach: Martin Owilah
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