Kenya managed to claim the upper hand in the first leg of the Legends Cup 2025 after edging hosts Uganda 17-19 in a closely contested encounter staged at the Kyadondo Grounds in Kampala on Saturday afternoon.
In a match that saw the Ugandan legends put up a fight of their lives in a bid to end their four-match losing streak, Kenya managed to get the job done as they kept out the spirited hosts who came charging, especially in the second half.
Trailing 3-12 at halftime, the Ugandans upped the ante in the second half and managed to close the gap to 17-19, only missing a penalty conversion attempt towards the dying stages of the match to hand Kenya a fifth straight win in the Legends Cup.
“If there was any doubt that this is a competition that is a close one to call, then this game should answer all those doubts. They played well and had a better backline today.
We made some errors but to be fair those errors were forced meaning they had us on the backfoot, but it is a fantastic win. They could have converted the penalty but they did not, and this makes it interesting going into the second leg,” head coach Oscar Osir noted after the game.
After a bright start by Kenya, it is the Ugandans who registered the first points on the board through the boot of Davis Kyewalabye who drilled in a penalty in the 12th minute.
Beaten to the first points on the scoreboard, Kenya managed to regather and got the first try through George Asin, who bulldozed his way over the tryline after some Kenyan pressure in the Ugandan 22. Darwin Mukidza ensured Kenya took the full points following a successful conversion.
One soon became two as former KCB RFC captain Curtis Lilako scored the easiest of tries following clever play by the Kenyans who turned defense into attack with Mukidza kicking in behind following a knock-on.
A missed conversion saw Kenya take a 3-12 lead into the break.
In the second half, Kenya extended their lead through John-Allan Namu who broke free on the wing following some determined play by Mukidza who pulled the strings in midfield before successfully converting to take the game to 3-19 seven minutes into the second half.
Just two minutes later, Kenya saw their lead chopped to 10-19 as Lawrence Ssebuliba picked up a lose ball in midfield before leaving the Kenyan defenders in his wake as he touched down Uganda’s first try that was converted by Chris Lubanga.
Davis’ converted try cut Kenya’a lead to only two points as it set up a tense finale in the final minutes.
Uganda however, failed to convert their chances including a late penalty, as Kenya hung on to claim the bragging rights.
Previous Legends Cup meetings
Uganda 17-19 Kenya (May 2025, Kyadondo Grounds)
Kenya 24-15 Uganda (September 2024, RFUEA Grounds)
Uganda 15-26 Kenya (June 2024, RFUEA Grounds)
Kenya 31-12 Uganda (September 2023, RFUEA Grounds)
Uganda 6-38 Kenya (May 2023, Legends Grounds)