Western Bulls and South Coast Pirates finally got their seasons underway in a long-awaited clash at the Bull Ring grounds, Kakamega with both sides hungry for a positive start after disrupted opening weekends.
Bulls were coming off a disappointing walkover to Catholic Monks due to financial challenges, while Pirates’ scheduled opener against Kisii had been pushed to February at Kisii’s request.
Despite the pressure on both teams, it was the visiting Pirates who settled quickest and asserted themselves early. New recruit Robin Odrua announced his arrival in style, slotting in a composed penalty to hand Pirates a 3–0 lead.
The momentum continued to swing in their favour, and moments later Sospeter Rofino finished off a clean attacking move to score the first try of the match. Odrua converted with ease, stretching the advantage to 10–0.
Western Bulls, backed by their home crowd, worked their way into the contest and managed to cut the deficit with a well-taken penalty. They headed into the halftime break trailing 10–3 but very much alive in the match.
After the restart, Bulls came out firing, crossing the whitewash for an early try that brought the score to 10–8 and shifted the pressure back onto the Pirates. The visitors responded instantly. Juma Mwaburashi grounded an unconverted try to push the score to 15–8 before Pirates’ skipper Charles Tendwa muscled over to widen the gap to 20–8.
Burashi returned for his second try of the afternoon, completing a well-earned brace as Pirates surged to a 25–8 lead, though the conversion drifted wide. Bulls managed a late penalty to reduce the margin, but it wasn’t enough to threaten the outcome.
At full time, South Coast Pirates walked away 25–11 winners, an encouraging result in what was officially their first match of the 2025/26 campaign, and a strong statement of intent as they settle into the season.
English