Curtains fall on the 30th edition of the Great Rift Valley 10-a-side rugby tournament

Written by James Munyua

Over 10,000 rugby fans and merrymakers turned up for the 30th edition of the Great Rift Valley 10-a-side tournament held at the Nakuru Athletics Club.

The 2-day tournament that was supported by the County Government of Nakuru under the leadership of H.E Governor Susan Kihika coincided with the 15-a-side Kenya Simbas’ vs Zimbabwe Goshawsk match in the ongoing Currie Cup circuit.

The match which was the highlight of the first day saw Kenya thrash Zimbabwe 48-7 in an entertaining energy-filled encounter.

Among the County Official who graced the event was the acting County Secretary Dr Samuel Mwaura, CECM for Sports Josephine Atieno Achieng, Chief Officer in the Office of the Governor Newton Mwaura, Chief Officer for Sports Stella Mwaura, Chief Officer of Gender and Inclusivity Gladys Kamuren and Chief officer for Water Margaret Kinyanjui.

The Great Rift 10-a-side competition which came to an end on Sunday, May 21 saw KCB RFC crowned the winners of the tournament after edging out Nakuru RFC 24-12 in the finals

A total of 8 teams were in participation with Blak Blad beating Nairobi University’s Mean Machine 17-10 to become second runners-up.

In the other earlier matches, Kabarak University thrashed the Technical University of Kenya 24-5 to book the fifth position as curtains fell on this year’s Great Rift 10-A-side competitions.

Speaking at the sidelines of the tournament Nakuru County Executive for Sports Ms Josephine Achieng lauded the fans for turning up in large numbers to cheer their favourite teams.

Achieng said that the turnup of over 10,000 people from across the country is a testament to the crucial role sports play in society.

“Sport is a unifying factor and this can be witnessed by what we are seeing here today. We as Nakuru County will continue supporting such tournaments and even create others to promote sports and cohesion in our county,” she stated.

On his part, the County Secretary Dr Samuel Mwaura said H.E Susan Kihika is committed to raising the standards of sports in Nakuru County and with the Afraha Stadium upgrade, sports will be big in her administration.

He further noted that such events will be of importance to the County as they not only promote talent but also give Nakuru a name as a tourist destination.

Nakuru RFC chairman Ombui Ratemo thanked the County Government of Nakuru for supporting the 30th edition of the tournament and urged for more funding to grow the game.

He further revealed that with more funding such tournaments can be held 3 or 4 times a year and would make a tremendous growth not only for the game but also for the economy of the County.