Ogot: We have a good working relationship with Bishop

Anthony Ogot, the assistant coach of Kabras Sugar has disputed any rift with heach coach Mike Bishop as the millers prepare to host Homeboyz RFC in a Kenya Cup match on Saturday.

Media reports had painted a picture of a divided house in the team's technical bench but Ogot confirmed their relationship is good and even if there were differences, they were work-related and not personal.

“Disagreeing with my coach does not mean we cannot work together. I actually learn a lot from him,” he said in reference to assumption that their “sour” relationship resulted in the team's poor showing in the opening five matches.

“That was a big lie and rumor. I don’t even know where that came from. Everywhere, people usually disagree because of one or two issues but they still work together.”

Ogot attributed their slow start to the season that saw Kabras record one win, a draw and three losses to poor gelling between players. “We had many new players and getting them to work together was the biggest problem. From what we saw in our last match, all is now well and Kabras is back to normalcy,” he told Sports News Arena.

Kabras beat Kenya Harlequin FC 41-17 last weekend to start 2016 positively. The win is their turning point according to Ogot. “That win was to determine whether we are back in contention as well as reduce points between us and the top teams.”

He has termed their weekend match against Homeboyz as tricky. Nevertheless, Ogot said they will be going for nothing but a second win. Homeboyz has 19 points, six ahead of Kabras and with a game at hand.

Impala could maintain lead

Impala RFC has an opportunity to maintain their leadership when they play aganst Mean Machine away. The students have only one win from six matches. Impala have won five.

Fred Ollows, the Impala RFC Director of Rugby says they will be going for one match at a time. The gazelles have made key changes with Innocent Simiyu, Simon Muniafu, Paul Mutsami, Kevin Ochami, Dennis Karani and Samson Onsomu returning to the starting lineup.

Second-placed Kenya Commercial Bank will host third-placed Kenya Harlequin FC in a top match for the weekend. Only two points separate both teams.

Another potential cracker will be at Nakuru Athletic Club when a resurgent Western Bulls tackle Nakuru RFC. When they lost to Impala in December, Nakuru proved that they are beatable at home where they have enjoyed a good record in the past seasons until Kabras beat them in the playoffs semifinal last season.

But with a 27-27 draw against KCB last weekend, Western Bulls has gained confidence to face any opponent and will take a good game to Nakuru.

After missing action last weekend, Strathmore University makes a return against Blak Blad with a home fixture. Thika RFC and Bungoma Sharks have tough encounters against Nondescript RUFC and Mwamba RFC.

Weekend Fixtures: Bungoma Sharks vs Mwamba RFC, Kabras vs Homeboyz, Strathmore University vs Blak Blad, Nakuru vs Western Bulls, Mean Machine vs Impala, Thika vs Nondies, KCB vs Quins.