Saturday 28 April 2018 is not just any other date in the second tier KRU Championship. It is a defining moment, a moment of truth perhaps with promotion to the top tier Kenya Cup at stake for the winners of the two semifinal fixtures taking place in Nairobi and Nakuru respectively.
Not even the official championship final on 5 May will elicit as much emotion as Saturday’s matches.
Newbies Menengai Oilers will be out to complete a fairy tale journey that started in last season’s third Nationwide league by sealing Kenya Cup qualification at their first time of asking. They will however have to contend with an ambitious Kisumu side that has literally turned their season around, climbing from the lower reaches on the log to come to within 80 minutes of returning to the Kenya Cup for the first time since the 2013/14 season.
Mean Machine were relegated from last season’s Kenya Cup after an uninterrupted 40 year spell that saw them not only lift three titles but gift Kenyan rugby loads of talent. They are looking for a quick return to the country’s top tier but have to contend with a clash against Western Bulls who tumbled down to the second division, ending a stint that began with their promotion in the 2012/13 season.
KRU Championship Semifinal Fixtures
Saturday 28 April 2018
Mean Machine v Western Bulls – 4.00pm, UoN Ground, Nairobi
Menengai Oilers v Kisumu – 4.00pm, ASK Showground, Nakuru