Four rugby teams in race for Soya accolade
Kenya Under-20 men's rugby team, Chipu captain John Baraka (right) receives the title from Sports CS Amina Mohamed after they won bronze in the 2022 Rugby Africa Barthes Trophy at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on April 17, 2022.
What you need to know:
- The Kenya Simbas won silver at the World Cup Africa qualifiers after losing to Namibia 36-0 in the tournament that doubled up for Africa Gold Cup in France in July.
- Kenya Simbas had beaten Uganda 42-7 in the quarter-final and against Algeria 36-33 in the semi-final.
Kenya Hockey Union men's Premier League champions Butali Sugar Warriors will battle four rugby and two athletics teams among others in the Team of the Year category of the 2022 Sports Personality of the Year Award (Soya).
The winning team will be declared during the Soya gala on January 20 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
The rugby teams are Kenya Cup champions Kabras Sugar Rugby Club, the National Sevens Series champions Menengai Oilers Rugby Club, the national 15s team, Kenya Simbas and the national under-20 team, Chipu.
Africa men’s 4x100m champions and the Commonwealth Games men’s 4x400m bronze medallists are the athletics teams that have earned nomination alongside the national men's handball champions National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB).
Butali Sugar Warriors were crowned the Kenya Hockey Union men’s Premier League champions for the fourth time in a row on Sunday.
The Warriors came from behind to conquer Sailors 4-1 at the City Park Hockey Stadium in Nairobi to remain unbeaten in 17 outings with a match to spare against Kenya Police.
Kabras Sugar Rugby Club retained both Kenya Cup rugby league and Enterprise Cup.
Kabras clinched its second Kenya Cup victory, beating Menengai Oilers 34-28 in the final on March 12th in Kakamega. They topped the Kenya Cup regular season with 50 points drawn from 10 wins and one loss. They beat Strathmore Leos 29-9 in the semi-finals.
Kabras Sugar would proceed to defend their Enterprise Cup title, edging out KCB Rugby 9-6 at the RFUEA ground on April 19th 2022.
Menengai Oilers won the National Sevens Series title for the first time after accumulating 113 points. The Oilers won Prinsloo Sevens and finished second at Dala, Driftwood and Kakamega Sevens.
It was also the first time the Oilers reached the Kenya Cup final after they stunned defending champions KCB 24-17 in the semi-finals.
The Africa 100m champion Ferdinand Omanyala anchored the 4x100m “Team Imeta” to a historic 4x100m victory at the Africa Senior Athletics Championships on June 10t at Cote d’or National Sports Complex, Mauritius.
Omanyala, Samuel Imeta, Dan Kiviasi and Dennis Otieno cruised home in 39.28. It was the first time Kenya won gold in 4x100 at the continental event.
The team beat defending champions South Africa to second place in 39.79 as Zimbabwe claimed bronze in 39.81.
Omanyala, who had just won the men’s 100m title, anchored the 4x100m team of Samuel Imeta, Mike Mokamba and Hesbon Ochieng to second place in heat two in a National Record of 38.92 seconds to qualify for the final at Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
A mishap in baton handling saw them fail to finish their race in the final.
Kenya’s team of Wiseman Were, Mike Mokamba, William Rayian and Boniface Mweresa settled for bronze in the men’s 4x400m in a season’s best of 3:02.41 at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Chipu settled for bronze in the 2022 Rugby Africa Barthes Trophy at Nyayo National Stadium on April 17, beating Madagascar 49-15 in the third place playoff match.
The Kenya Simbas won silver at the World Cup Africa qualifiers after losing to Namibia 36-0 in the tournament that doubled up for Africa Gold Cup in France in July.
Kenya Simbas had beaten Uganda 42-7 in the quarter-final and against Algeria 36-33 in the semi-final.
