By Herbert Mwachiro
July 18 2006

Kenya Harlequin left it to the death as they pulled a rabbit out if the hat in the final two minutes to defeat bitter rivals Impala 23-22 in a pulsating Kenya Cup League game played over the weekend. The match, which undoubtedly was the game of the weekend, had its fair share of drama right from the beginning. The large crowd that turned up to watch the game definitely got their moneys worth if not more heart attacks than necessary.

Quins began in strong fashion by taking a 3-0 lead via a Julius Abwanzo penalty. Thereafter the boys were at sea as Impala hit back with a converted Neto Simiyu try to make it 7-3. The younger Simiyu clearly irking his elder brothers whom he taunted right from the beginning of the game to the end. ‘Punks’ he called them. Paul Sadat then found a hole in the Quins rearguard to make it 12-3 in Impala’s favour. At this point Quins looked a pale shadow of the dominant side they usually are. The faithful were at a loss as to what was happening with the side. As the cold bore on, the throats were better off silent as they kept warm.

With Impala 12-3 ahead at the breather Coach Tom ‘Crusader’ Odundo tore into his charges who now resembled a star-studded Real Madrid. Was another ‘Galactico’ performance in store for Quins? Only time would tell. This was not the rugby Quins play and he was definitely not amused. Neither were the faithful.

The second half saw a charged up Quins take the game deep into Impala territory and they were immediately rewarded with an Enos Otieno try that made it 12-8. Abwanzo was wide with the conversion. Impala quickly got some points with a Moses Kola penalty making it 15-8. Quins then scored against the run of play through Namcos Simiyu to reduce the deficit to 15-13. Abwanzo continued with another miss.

As the game continued, Impala were very much in the party with Paul Oimbo scoring a try right under the posts after a surging 22 metre burst that saw him carry 5 defenders with him. Kola converted to make it 22-13 with ten minutes to go. Impala were in comfort zone.

Quins still refused to concede and after a flurry of exchanges Victor Sudi scored his first of the game bringing the score to 22-18. Abwanzo did not read the script and the follow up kick was wide off the mark.

With five minutes remaining Quins Sidney Ashioya came off the bench in place of Charles Cardovillis who had given his heart and body during the game. Then came the magic moment of the game. Deep in our territory Jude Thumbi for all his erratic nature decided to run the ball rather than find territory. With quick hands the ball found Victor Sudi with inches of space to spare. Sudi then decided to beat his man and he was off. As the Impala defence narrowed him down he gave a ‘banana’ cross kick that swerved to the other side of the pitch and it looked like Impala would retrieve and clear it to safety. Sidney Ashioya had other ideas as he produced a soccer dive worthy of Fabien Barthez as he retrieved the difficult ball did a quick run and shimmy before offloading to Amos Agiro who gained some good yards then passed to Namcos Simiyu who in turn beat a number of defenders before offloading to Sudi who powered his way to the centre of the tryline. Quins had scored a brilliant try and the faithful were up and singing as the lead changed hands to 23-22. By this stage the fans and both teams were so tense that few were actually sure of the real score. The ref was also caught up in the frenzy and waited to see who will celebrate the conversion as the end was near.

Jude Thumbi placed the ball ready to take the conversion in front of the posts but then changed his mind and called Abwanzo to shoulder the responsibility. Abwanzo came from deep in his territory and measured himself to take the kick. This one was definitely a sitter (so we thought) and there was no way he could miss. Abwanzo proved us wrong as the ball veered off the post with a stunning miss. Quins were now hanging onto their 23-22 lead as Impala launched one final onslaught. With fever pitch excitement in the air, it was a great relief as Impala made an error and the ref who like everybody else had had enough blew the final whistle as celebrations rocked the ground. Final score Quins 23 Impala 22. Quins were Sure, Strong and Superior as they completed a deserved double over their neighbours and bitter rivals Impala. The news that KCB had clinched the Kenya Cup with a 26-20 victory did not dampen the mood at all as Quins climbed into second place in the league.

The second XV led by Cyrus ‘The Virus’ Omondi had earlier pulled off a 5-0 victory courtesy of a Chris Oduor try as they beat KCB II in a return leg tie of the ESS competition. Aggregate score of 21-14 Quins II made it a great weekend for Quins. Their game was another ‘malaria’ as they scored mid in the first half and then defended their sole try with their lives. Veterans John Kagagi and Joel Karubia steered the ship with their experience as the game came to a close. In the end it was deserved and worth the effort. The Old Guard who were watching that game needed tranquilizers afterwards to calm them down. Well in seconds. Their opponents in this weeks ESS final Nakuru RC were polishing Mombasa 37-0 to finish with an aggregate of 81-3 score line.

Thereafter a relieved faithful as is custom after good wins, proceeded to get very very very tired in the clubhouse. No other better way to keep warm.

The coming weekend sees Quins 2nd XV play Nakuru in the ESS final while Quins 1st XV take on champions KCB away. Quins are the only team to have beaten KCB this season and the chance to pull a double on the champions is indeed exciting. Let's turn out in large numbers and support both teams as they play 2 big games this weekend.


MEMBERSHIP:
As the club is very active this month, we request members to pay their subscriptions in order to help finance and support the activities of the club. June was indeed a busy month and in July, we shall be playing Mombasa RFC at the coast in an Enterprise Cup game quarterfinal game on the 29th of July 2006. Please support the efforts of the club.

Please reach out to as many Friends of Quins (FOQ) as possible and if there are contacts of people out there young and old and with Quins at heart please let us have their contacts as well.

Social Notice: This Friday 21st July (QUINDAY) there will be a Quiz night. Lets turn up and test our knowledge once again at a QUINDAY Quiz night. All except players are welcome.

The 2006 membership drive continues.

25.Kate Anampiu - Superior
24.John Kiarie - Superior
23.Masika Mukule - Strong
22.David Waithaka - Strong
22.Richard Mukoma - Superior
21.Patrick Kiambi - Superior
20.Vincent Rariewa - Superior
19.Eliud Siganga – Superior
18.Sammy Okaro - Strong
17.Daag Ham Onsando – Superior (Honorary V/Chairman)
16.William Mudavadi - Superior
15.Thomas Odundo - Superior
14.Herbert Mwachiro - Superior
13.Sammy Muraya - Superior
12.Geoff Anampiu - Strong
11.Gordon Anampiu - Superior
10.Gabriel Ouko - Superior
9.Philip Jalango - Superior
8.Rodrigues Orawo - Superior
7.Aidan Moore - Superior
6.Ralph Nzomo - Superior
5.James Absaloms Juma - Superior
4.Ken Muli - Superior
3.Andrew Kimani - Superior
2.Dominique Dimba - Superior
1.Esther W Nganga - Strong