By KPC Sports Reporter
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) have set their sights on retaining their women’s rugby 7s crown as the Kenya University Sports Federation (KUSF) national play-offs get underway Thursday through Saturday at Kabarak University.
The three-day championship, bringing together top institutions that qualified through regional conferences, will feature both indoor and outdoor disciplines in what organisers expect to be a highly competitive national showdown.
MMUST Games Tutor Geoffrey Barasa expressed optimism ahead of the tournament, noting that the Western Conference champions have assembled a formidable squad capable of defending the title they won last year after defeating Karatina University 15–0 in the final.
He said the team has intensified preparations through a series of build-up matches to sharpen performance levels before heading to Kabarak.
“We are taking a formidable team for the championships after winning the Western Conference title. To defend the title, we engaged in various friendly matches to test the players’ preparedness and they are ready. At the same time, we competed at the BingwaFest, losing in the semifinals. That shows how ready we are for the competition in Kabarak,” said Barasa.
The play-offs will showcase a wide range of disciplines, underlining the diversity of university sports in the country. Indoor games on the programme include badminton, table tennis, darts, scrabble, taekwondo, karate and chess among others, while outdoor action will feature woodball, baseball, rugby 7s, rollball and 3×3 basketball.
Beyond rugby, Barasa is confident MMUST can contend for honours in other disciplines, singling out the scrabble team as strong medal prospects following their regional success.
“We won the East Africa title in Scrabble, so we have every reason to target the national title too,” he added, referencing their triumph at the East Africa University Games.
The Kakamega-based institution will field teams in women’s rugby 7s, swimming, karate, taekwondo, badminton, scrabble, chess and darts, reflecting a broad competitive presence at the championships.
KUSF Secretary General Joan Adalo welcomed the strong response from participating institutions, expressing confidence that the play-offs will deliver high-quality competition across all events.
“We have received 90 percent of all qualified teams registering for the competition. Rift Valley as the host conference has assured us of good competition and they are ready,” said Adalo.
She noted that rugby 7s — both men’s and women’s categories — has attracted the highest number of entries, with 16 teams registered in each, underscoring the sport’s growing popularity at the university level.
Most other disciplines have drawn fewer than 15 teams.
With national bragging rights, medals and institutional pride at stake, the Kabarak play-offs are expected to provide a thrilling climax to the university sports calendar.
MMUST is seeking to extend their dominance in women’s rugby 7s while rival institutions plot to dethrone the defending champions.