MMUST Aims to Defend Women’s Rugby 7s Crown at KUSF Nationals

Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) is focused on retaining their women’s rugby 7s championship as the Kenya University Sports Federation (KUSF) national play-offs commence Thursday through Saturday at Kabarak University. The three-day tournament, bringing together top universities that qualified through regional conferences, will feature various indoor and outdoor sports, with organizers anticipating a highly competitive national event. MMUST Games Tutor Geoffrey Barasa expressed confidence prior to the tournament, highlighting that the Western Conference champions have formed a strong squad capable of defending their title from last year when they defeated Karatina University 15-0 in the final. He mentioned that the team has enhanced their preparations through a series of exhibition matches to improve performance levels before traveling to Kabarak. “We are taking a strong team for the championships after winning the Western Conference title. To defend our championship, we participated in various friendly matches to evaluate the players’ readiness and they are prepared. Additionally, we competed at the BingwaFest, losing in the semifinals. This demonstrates our readiness for the competition in Kabarak,” stated Barasa. The play-offs will showcase a wide array of sports, emphasizing the diversity of university athletics nationwide. Indoor sports on the schedule include badminton, table tennis, darts, scrabble, taekwondo, karate and chess among others, while outdoor activities will feature woodball, baseball, rugby 7s, rollball and 3×3 basketball. Beyond rugby, Barasa believes MMUST can compete for honors in other sports, specifically noting the scrabble team as strong medal contenders following their regional achievements. “We won the East Africa title in Scrabble, so we have every reason to aim for the national title as well,” he added, referencing their victory at the East Africa University Games. The Kakamega-based institution will participate in women’s rugby 7s, swimming, karate, taekwondo, badminton, scrabble, chess and darts, demonstrating a broad competitive presence at the championships. KUSF Secretary General Joan Adalo welcomed the significant response from participating universities, expressing belief 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 strong competition and they are prepared,” said Adalo. She noted that rugby 7s in both men’s and women’s categories has attracted the highest number of entries, with 16 teams registered in each, highlighting the sport’s increasing popularity at the university level. Most other sports have drawn fewer than 15 teams. With national pride, medals and institutional reputation at stake, the Kabarak play-offs are expected to provide an exciting conclusion to the university sports calendar. MMUST is looking to extend their dominance in women’s rugby 7s while rival universities plan to unseat the defending champions.