Photo: Lens eye
Mwamba RFC cemented their dominance in women’s rugby after clinching a historic fifth consecutive Kenya Cup Women’s title with a hard-fought 30-20 victory over a spirited Quins queens side in an entertaining final held at Goan Institute, Nairobi.
The defending champions struck first through Edith Nariaka, who dotted down at the far post to hand Mwamba an early 5-0 lead. Moments later, talisman Janet Okello crossed over to stretch the advantage, though the conversion attempt sailed wide, leaving the scores at 10-0.
Quins, however, refused to be overrun. They responded with a well-worked try to cut the deficit to 10-5 before Milcah Chitechi calmly slotted in a penalty to narrow it further to 10-8. The momentum shifted just before the break as Quins added an unconverted try, taking a 13-10 lead into halftime.
Mwamba returned from the interval with renewed intensity. Kenya Lionesses forward Rose Otieno powered over from a rolling maul to reclaim the lead at 15-13. Winger Irene Apiyo then showcased her blistering pace, executing a perfect kick-and-chase to extend Mwamba’s advantage to 20-13.
Nariaka returned to complete her brace with another clinical finish, pushing the score to 25-13, before youngster Ann Namnyak came off the bench to add Mwamba’s fifth try and stretch the lead to 30-13.
Quins captain Shilla Chanjira gave her side a glimmer of hope with a center-post try, reducing the deficit to 30-20, but time was not on their side as Mwamba held firm to secure victory.
The triumph sees Mwamba complete a five-peat fete, winning every edition of the competition since its inception in 2019. Despite the loss, Quins can take pride in a historic campaign that saw them reach their maiden Kenya Cup final, signaling a bright future for the side.
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