It’s going on six years since Kisumu and Kakamega based Western Bulls met in their only Kenya Cup encounter to date. That fixture played at the Kisumu Polytechnic ended in a 51-3 victory for the Bulls at the Kisumu Polytechnic on Saturday 18 January 2014.
Kisumu would be relegated at the close of that season (2013/14) while Bulls would suffer the same fate at the close of the 2016/17 season. They then met twice in the 2017/18 Championship, Bulls winning the first leg fixture 22-11 at the Mamboleo Showground and 20-16 in Kakamega.
This rivalry continued last season, Kisumu bucking the three match losing streak by holding Bulls to a 10-10 home draw at the Nyang’ori High School on 8 December 2018 before registering their first ever win over Western Bulls with that 9-8 win at the Bull Ring on Saturday 30 March 2019. Kisumu would then beat Bulls 23-5 on Saturday 18 May 2019 in the final of the second tier Championship at the Kakamega Showground, a match that was a foregone conclusion as both sides had secured Kenya Cup promotion for this season.
The two sides, who are just a 48.7km drive from each other will meet for only the second time in the Kenya Cup when Bulls host the Bravehearts at the Bull Ring in Kakamega in match day six action on Saturday 30 November 2019.
Kisumu are currently bottom of the table with 4 points coming off that solitary 19-17 home win over Nondescripts. They have lost their four other outings to date.
Bulls on the other hand are a position and a point ahead of Kisumu, their 5 points coming off a bonus point obtained in the 27-21 match day two home loss to Menengai Oilers with the additional four coming from that 21-19 match day three upset of Kenya Harlequin at the RFUEA Ground.
It may be early days yet but Saturday’s fixture is big for both sides as they look to secure top flight status at the close of this campaign, they certainly will be leaving nothing to chance and this should set the stage for an entertaining game of rugby.