The Vihiga County Schools Rugby 15s Championships got underway with exciting action on day one as teams battled for early dominance in the pool stages at Chavakali High School.
Much of the spotlight, however, fell on national champions Vihiga High School, who began their title defence in emphatic fashion with two commanding victories that underlined their status as one of the tournament favourites.
Vihiga High opened their campaign with a dominant 60–0 victory over Ebubayi, showcasing their attacking strength and defensive solidity. They followed that performance with another convincing win, beating Nyangori 33–3 to firmly establish themselves at the top of the early standings.
The results sent a clear message to the rest of the field that the reigning national champions remain a formidable force as they look to extend their dominance at the county level.
Elsewhere, Chavakali High School also enjoyed a strong start to the tournament. They edged Nyangori 5–0 in a tight opening encounter before producing a more fluent performance to defeat Ebusiloli 20–3, keeping themselves firmly in the hunt heading into day two fixtures.
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Senende High School were among the other standout performers on day one. They began with an impressive 34–0 victory over Kegoye, before backing it up with a 17–5 win against Mbale.
Mbale had earlier picked up a narrow 7–0 win over Esalwa, while Kegoye recovered from their opening defeat to record a 19–0 victory against Esalwa. In another closely contested match, Ebusiloli defeated Ebubayi 13–7 to keep their hopes alive in the competition.
Action will continue on day two with several crucial fixtures expected to shape the race for knockout qualification. The headline clash will see Chavakali face national champions Vihiga High School, a matchup that could determine the early pace-setters in the tournament.
Other key fixtures lined up include Mbale vs Kegoye, Ebusiloli vs Nyangori, Esalwa vs Senende, Chavakali vs Ebubayi, Vihiga vs Ebusiloli, and Nyangori vs Ebubayi.
In the girls’ category, Madira Girls and Tigoi Girls emerged as the early standout teams after strong day one performances. Madira opened with a 5–0 victory over Mudavadi before extending their good form with a 29–0 win against Goibei. Tigoi also impressed, defeating Goibei 19–0 and edging Kaimosi 6–5 in a tightly contested encounter.
Mudavadi and Kaimosi played out a 5–5 draw, highlighting the competitive nature of the girls’ matches.
The girls’ competition will continue on day two with matches including Mudavadi vs Goibei, Kaimosi vs Madira, Mudavadi vs Tigoi, Goibei vs Kaimosi, and a highly anticipated clash between Madira and Tigoi, which could prove decisive in determining the leading team in the girls’ category.
Vihiga County Schools Rugby 15s – Boys
Day 1 Results
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Chavakali 05–00 Nyangori
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Senende 34–00 Kegoye
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Vihiga 60–00 Ebubayi
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Esalwa 00–07 Mbale
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Chavakali 20–03 Ebusiloli
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Senende 17–05 Mbale
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Vihiga 33–03 Nyangori
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Kegoye 19–00 Esalwa
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Ebusiloli 13–07 Ebubayi
Day 2 Fixtures
10. Chavakali vs Vihiga
11. Mbale vs Kegoye
12. Ebusiloli vs Nyangori
13. Esalwa vs Senende
14. Chavakali vs Ebubayi
15. Vihiga vs Ebusiloli
16. Nyangori vs Ebubayi
Vihiga County Schools Rugby 15s – Girls
Day 1 Results
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Mudavadi 00–05 Madira
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Goibei 00–19 Tigoi
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Mudavadi 05–05 Kaimosi
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Goibei 00–29 Madira
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Kaimosi 05–06 Tigoi
Day 2 Fixtures
6. Mudavadi vs Goibei
7. Kaimosi vs Madira
8. Mudavadi vs Tigoi
9. Goibei vs Kaimosi
10. Madira vs Tigoi
