Paul Murunga’s Kenya Harlequin showed incredible character to lift the 2024 Ingo 7s title in Kakamega after snatching a 17-12 sudden-death victory against KCB on Sunday evening at the Kakamega Showground.
Seeking to atone for their main cup final loss last weekend at the Christie 7s, Quins came up with the perfect response as they completed a stunning comeback from 0-12 down to lift their first trophy in the 2024 SportPesa 7s Circuit.
“That game was a show of character. We were down 0-12 but I think the boys were fit enough to come back into the game. They played according to how we had planned to kill the game by kicking deep into their territory, putting pressure on them and scoring.
Aside from playing for each other, what worked for us was that the young guys followed instructions and played according to the structure. Last week, we were almost there but this week we have managed to do it.
Of course, there will be pressure going forward but we are a better place,” Murunga told SportPesa Blog after the game.
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KCB, who had knocked out hosts and perennial rivals Kabras Sugar to reach their first main cup final this season, got off the blocks the quickest and got rewarded for their bright start with Elvis Olukusi touching down twice inside the opening four minutes to give them the 0-12 lead following one converted and one unconverted tries.
Quins, who had beaten Nakuru to book their spot in a second successive main cup final, gave themselves a lifeline when Amon Wamalwa made a brilliant line break from his own half before offloading to a supporting player who touched down under the posts for an easy conversion that reduced the deficit to 7-12 at the break.
Kenya Harlequin at the 2024 Ingo 7s
With thirty seconds to go, Quins could have won the game in regular time but a costly knock on less than one metre from the tryline left them at the mercy of KCB.
Luck would however come their way as KCB also had a knock on of their own to hand back the opportunity to Quins, who this time took it as Brian Ratila touched down at the corner to force the game to sudden death.
Another knock on came to haunt KCB in extra time as Dewald Lucky capitalized to score at the corner for the 17-12 win.
ALSO READ: SportPesa launch revolutionary Tujiamini Initiative to nurture talent
Tujiamini is an initiative that seeks to provide a platform, including up to 30M shillings in funding, for individual, team sports and various talent, in a year-long campaign that will go around the country in a move aimed at evoking the sense of pride in Kenya’s sports and talent ecosystem.
Applicants are urged to submit their applications through www.tujiamini.co.ke