Kinale Girls Senior School in Lari, Kiambu County, is set to carry Kenya’s flag to Tanzania after emerging national champions in both rugby sevens and rugby 15s.
The school will also represent Kenya in discus throw after finishing second at the national level, underlining its growing reputation as a sporting powerhouse.
The rugby team’s success has handed Kiambu a rare opportunity to showcase its sporting talent on the regional stage, with the players now targeting an East African title.
The team received a morale boost after meeting Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi, who hosted the players and officials ahead of their departure.
The girls told the governor they were determined to go beyond simply representing Kenya, promising to return home as East African champions.
Captain Juliet Amina said the team’s journey had been difficult, with lack of reliable transport emerging as one of its biggest challenges.
She appealed to the county government and other well-wishers to help the school acquire a bus that can ferry the players to competitions.
“We have been travelling back and forth without a bus. Sometimes people take pity on us and lend us their buses,” Ms Amina said.
The captain said the team had travelled to the governor’s event in a bus borrowed from outside Kiambu, a situation she described as difficult for a school that has established itself as a national sporting force.
She pledged that the players would repay any support by fighting for regional honours.
“We will make sure that we become the East African champions,” she said.
The school’s chief principal, Ms Simiyu, said Kinale had spent years building a strong sporting culture and had continued investing in talent despite numerous challenges.
She said the school began making major strides in sport before the Covid-19 pandemic, with its netball and football teams representing the Central region at national competitions.
The school’s rugby programme gained momentum in 2023 when it formed a hybrid team and began competing more seriously.
Kinale finished eighth in a national rugby competition that year before rising to second nationally in 2024 and later finishing second at the Federation of East African Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSSA) competition.
The breakthrough came in 2026 when the school captured the national rugby 15s title after embracing the discipline for the first time under the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association competition structure.
The school subsequently retained its national rugby sevens crown, confirming its dominance in both versions of the game.
Ms Simiyu attributed the success to discipline, commitment from the players, teachers and coaches, and support from parents and other stakeholders.
She identified transport as one of the school’s most pressing challenges, saying the institution had previously relied on an ageing truck that was eventually taken off the road after failing inspection.
The former truck is now used to transport firewood, leaving the school dependent on borrowed or hired buses whenever its teams travel.
She said finding transport had become a major burden, with the school sometimes having to make frantic arrangements whenever buses were unavailable.
“This is a sports school that does not have a bus,” she said, appealing for assistance.
The principal said poor road access to the school, located near the Kinale Forest area, compounded the challenges faced by students and teachers.
Despite the difficulties, she said Kinale had remained committed to nurturing talent across several disciplines, including netball, football, handball, athletics and rugby.
The school’s sporting achievements have also attracted the attention of officials and development partners, with speakers at the event urging the players to remain disciplined and focused as they pursue opportunities beyond Kenya.
Kiambu officials said the team’s success demonstrated that sporting talent could provide young people with opportunities to access international competitions and potentially attract scouts.
The governor congratulated the players, saying their achievement had given the county another reason to take pride in its young people.
Wamatangi said he had agreed to meet the team after receiving an appeal from school officials who wanted him to encourage the players before their regional assignment.
He praised the girls for defeating strong opposition to become national champions and assured them of his support as they embark on their Tanzanian campaign.
The governor said he was impressed by the team’s determination and vowed to work with the school as it seeks to overcome some of the challenges affecting its sporting programme.
The players were also urged to view the Tanzania competition as an opportunity to showcase their abilities to scouts and other sporting stakeholders.
Officials noted that regional competitions can provide a pathway for talented athletes to progress to higher levels of competition and, potentially, professional sport.
The school’s discus throw representative will also carry Kenya’s hopes in Tanzania after finishing second nationally.
The combination of rugby and athletics success has strengthened Kinale’s claim to being one of Kiambu’s emerging secondary-school sports hubs.
As the girls prepare to leave for Tanzania, the message from their coaches, teachers and county officials is clear: they are not travelling merely to participate.
They are going in search of East African glory — and hoping to return with another piece of history for Kinale and Kiambu County.
