Kabras coach Katywa predicts thriller against Oilers in Kenya Cup clash

Kabras Sugar to play against Menengai Oilers at the ASK Nakuru Showground on Saturday in Kenya Cup match. Photo. Courtesy)

By Michael Kirwa
Friday, February 28, 2025

Dubbed as the clash of the weekend, Kabras Sugar and Menengai Oilers go into the match ranked 2nd and 3rd with 44 and 41 points, respectively.

Kabras Sugar's South African head coach, Carlos Katywa, has dubbed his team's Kenya Cup clash against the Menengai Oilers at the ASK Nakuru Showground on Saturday a "humdinger."

"The match will be a humdinger, a colossal one," Katywa told The Eastleigh Voice before adding that he had been looking forward to the encounter, as before the season started, he singled out the Menengai Oilers as a team that could go all the way because they had improved as a team.

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"Menengai Oilers will give us a tough match, but I live for days like this. It is why we play the game," Katywa said enthusiastically.

Dubbed as the clash of the weekend, Kabras Sugar and Menengai Oilers go into the match ranked 2nd and 3rd with 44 and 41 points, respectively. While Kabras Sugar has won all nine Kenya Cup matches so far, Menengai Oilers lost their invincibility last weekend following a narrow 29-27 away loss to KCB Rugby, who top the standings with 45 points. Kabras Sugar and KCB remain the only teams that have won all their Kenya Cup matches this season.

Katywa, while remaining reticent about Kabras Sugar's game plan for tomorrow's match, expressed his intention to capitalise on vulnerabilities in the Oilers' defence.

"Much as I regard the Oilers as an all-rounded team, after analysing videos of the matches, I have identified some vulnerabilities in their defence that we will plan to exploit tomorrow. In attack, they are a forceful and persistent team, and going by how we have prepared for them, tomorrow will require a patient and tactical game from us," Katywa said.

"I do not think tomorrow's match will be high scoring," he added.

Kabras Sugar defended their 100% record with a narrow 7-3 win at home against Nondescripts last weekend, a result that Katywa warns should not be used as a basis to speculate how they will perform against the Oilers, who fell to a last-minute try against KCB last weekend after a gallant display.

Katywa stated, "Nondies gave us a hard time, but tomorrow will be a different match," before clarifying that despite their unbeaten record against the Oilers, he is not relying on past results to predict tomorrow's contest.

"History only gives a psychological boost, which we still have to harness by being mentally strong," Katywa said.

Even though Kabras Sugar has been boosted by the return of Jone Kubu, who had been engaged with the Kenya Sevens, Katywa said that tomorrow's could be the Fijian-born player's last match for Kabras in the Kenya Cup this season.

"I plan to play him tomorrow, but after that, I do not think he will be available for us again because of the Kenya Sevens' busy program," Katywa said.

Kabras Sugar remains unbeaten in the Kenya Cup for three years, having never tasted defeat since losing 28-22 to KCB on February 26, 2022. They are the competition's defending champions and favourites to lift the trophy for a fourth consecutive season.

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