School Games: Koyonzo coach Okwemba eyes Sevens title despite regional upset - Citizen Digital

Koyonzo High School Rugby Team celebrate victory against Vihiga High School during Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association National Schools ball games at Bull Ring in Kakamega county on August 11, 2023. Koyonzo won 22-12. Photo/Sportpicha

Koyonzo rugby 7s head coach Eliud Okwemba is buoyant of reclaiming their national title this year despite losing the regional crown last weekend.

The Stormers were stunned by eventual champions St. Peter’s Boys Mumias 19-12 with Okwemba ruing their loss to individual mistakes.

However, the 2023 Soya Award winner believes they can reclaim their mojo in the national extravaganza scheduled for July 28 to August 2 2025 in Kakamega County.

“We lost the semis because we made two mistakes and our opponents took the advantage. We are ready for the nationals. We will work on those mistakes and I’m hopeful we can reclaim our national title,” Okwemba told Citizen Digital.

They will still be battling it out against St. Peters who have been a thorn in the flesh after beating them both at the county and regional level but Okwemba is unperturbed.

“We can match St. Peter’s if we are on top of our game, we beat finalists Bungoma High School 24-7 in the pool and that shows how good we are.”

Okwemba is aiming to improve the mental strength of the players as he believes he has a quality squad, capable of lifting the title.

 “Our team is okay, I have no doubt in the quality I have. My boys have speed, agility and strength. I believe we just have to work on our mental strength and we can lift the title again,” said Okwemba.

Koyonzo relinquished both the national and East African Rugby 7s last year after losing 10-5 to eventual winners Bwake Boys.

The Stormers had an incredible 2023 campaign as they swept all possible trophies from the zonal to the East African level on an unbeaten record.

Several top stars completed their secondary school that year and they were forced into rebuilding last year and Okwemba says they are close to the level they were in their record breaking year.