Former Kenya Harlequin forward Charlton Mokua has been appointed Kisii RFC head coach, with the club targeting promotion to the Kenya Cup next season.Mokua will take over from Nelvin Lumiti, who has been serving as interim coach following the departure of Lee Arstone.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsArstone left Kisii to join Kenya Cup champions Kabras Sugar as a backs coach, creating a vacancy that attracted five applicants, according to club chairman Bob Onchong’a.Onchong’a said the club settled on Mokua because of his longstanding association with Kisii RFC and his understanding of its history and philosophy.“Mokua is one of the pioneer players of the club, and when he showed interest, we settled on him. He understands the club’s history and philosophy. The other coaches who applied were overqualified,” the Chairman told The Star.Former Kenya Sevens star Biko Adema lands coaching job in QatarMokua began his playing career at Kisii before featuring for several Kenya Cup sides, including Nakuru RFC, Kabras Sugar, Kenya Harlequins and Nondescripts RFC.He has also gained coaching experience at school level, having worked with several institutions, among them Lenana School. His appointment comes as Kisii seek to build a competitive squad capable of securing a return to the top tier of Kenyan rugby.Onchong’a confirmed that the new head coach would have the freedom to select his assistant. Former Kisii coach and chairman Eric Bosire, alongside Cardinal Otunga High School assistant coach Edward Sokoine, have already expressed interest in joining the technical bench.##NAJAVA_MECA_10036857##Kisii missed out on their promotion ambitions last season despite what Onchong’a described as a good campaign. The chairman attributed their failure to reach the playoffs partly to their inability to honour a fixture against Mombasa RFC.“We had a good campaign last season, but we did not achieve our target to play in the playoffs because we failed to honour our game against Mombasa RFC,” he said.With the players having gained valuable experience, Kisii are now targeting a place in the KRU Championship final and subsequent promotion to the Kenya Cup.“The players have gained experience, and we want to play in the KRU Championship final and seal Kenya Cup qualification,” Onchong’a added.How teams can break Kabras' hegemony in Rugby 15sHowever, the chairman acknowledged that relegated sides Kisumu RFC and Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) would provide stiff competition in the promotion race, given their experience in the top flight.Both clubs were relegated from the Kenya Cup last season and will be looking to secure an immediate return.The KRU Championship will also welcome Administration Police (AP) Warriors and Kenya Prisons, who are set to make their debut in the competition. They replace United States International University-Africa (USIU-A) and Western Bulls, who were relegated.Kisii will begin their promotion campaign away to National Youth Service (NYS) Spades on Saturday, 21 November at the NYS headquarters in Nairobi.
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