In an event held at the Impala Club yesterday night, a 100+ Resolution Impala Saracens fraternity came out to celebrate season successes. The event which was attended by Kenya Rugby Legends and Union officials breathed sparks of encouragement to the youthful players present. It has to be noted that Impala won 3 trophies in the 2016-17 season. The silverware includes: The 2016 Kabeberi 7s, The 2016 Floodlit Tournament & The 2016-17 ESS Trophy.
Speaking at the event, Impala Saracens Chair, Mr. Bill Githinji, who is a sevens legend and won the Kenya Cup with Impala in 2004 & 2009 asserted the need for the boys to keep digging even deeper for glory, “We have 5 players in the Kenya XV as of today. There is no excuse as to why we cannot have 10.” Impala Veteran – Mr. Mang’eli in his speech stressed the need for players to find harmony amongst each other. KRU Secretary General and former Impala Chair – Mr. Oduor Gangla was clear in explaining just how good performance by Impala makes him proud. “Impala is the best club in Kenya – no lie & that’s why other teams are trying to emulate our structures of execution.” Frank Ndong’ – current head coach at Impala’s objective speech breathed will-power into the players – “We now have unique resources to enable us execute our duties effectively. In addition to the experienced coaching staff, we have consultants who are coming on board to make sure our bodies and minds are in the right frame as we head into the 7s season & subsequent 15s season.”
Team Captain – Duncan Ekasi, who constantly leads from the front thanked all the players for pushing beyond borders all through the season. “We’ve had our ups & downs, but we held our own.”
Awards Ceremony
Paul Mutsami never made it to neither the Kenya XVs nor 7s, but his lack of luck with the selectors’ eyes was not enough to blind Chairman Bill Githinji from noticing his work-rate season through. He took home the Chairman’s Award.
Ian Mabwa comfortably fit within the Boks and the Gazelles when called upon to execute duty. He received the Spirit Of Impala Award.
Team Captain – Duncan Ekasi scored 10 tries in the Kenya Cup Season and took home the Top Try Scorer Award
George Okowa’s boot collected 17 conversions for Impala and was awarded the Top Point Scorer Award
Lock – Shem Angugo was awarded Rookie Of The Season Award. Angugo was man of the match on 3 occasions: The ESS matches pitting: Impala vs Western Bulls, Impala vs KCB and the Enterprise Cup Semis match against Kabras.
Anthony Odhiambo came back from a season long injury to cementing the fly-half position and last night won the Most Promising Player Award.
We need not say a lot about Samson Bogongo Onsomu’s role in the Academy, Gazelles & Kenya XV. The man who never takes no for an answer on the field of play was declared Most Valuable Player of the 2016-17 season.
The event also served as platform for introducing KETEPA’s – Maisha Water as official hydration partner to Impala Saracens. Franklin Nyamweya who is part of the marketing team at KETEPA promised support for the club’s hydration needs through the 7s season and beyond.
