Mean Machine RFC ‘Eschuma’ secured their return to Division One of the National Sevens Circuit for Christie leg in emphatic fashion, defeating Northern Suburbs 22–10 in the Division Two Cup final at Embu Stadium on Sunday.

The promotion marks a return to the top tier for the University of Nairobi side, who had been outside Division One since their last appearance in the competition. Machine completed an unbeaten campaign in Embu, saving their most important performance for the final.

They made a fast start against Northern Suburbs, opening the scoring with an unconverted try in the corner to take a 5–0 lead. Duncan Shamala then produced a superb individual break, slicing through the Northern Suburbs defence to double Machine’s advantage.

Mean Machine continued to dominate and added a converted try before the interval, heading into halftime with a commanding 17–0 lead.

Northern Suburbs fought back after the break and managed to add 10 points, but Machine remained in control to secure a 22–10 victory and the Division Two Cup.

Their route to the final had seen them defeat CUEA Monks 10–0 in the semi-finals, while Northern Suburbs booked their place in the decider after edging KCA University 14–12.

CUEA Monks went on to claim third place after an emphatic 40–0 victory over KCA University in the playoff.

Christie 7s Awaits

With the Embu leg now concluded, attention shifts to the Christie 7s at the RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi this weekend 12th and 13th September, the final stop of the six-leg National Sevens Circuit.

The Christie tournament will bring the 2026 campaign to its conclusion, with the promotion battle in Division Two adding another storyline to an already competitive season.

For Mean Machine, their successful Embu campaign provides the perfect springboard into the next chapter. Having secured their place back in Division One, the university side will head into Christie with renewed confidence and the opportunity to finish their Division Two campaign on a high and test themselves with top division side and hope to build promotion back to division one next season by consistency in the 6 legs , building from Embu leg triumph.

As the circuit moves to RFUEA for Christie 7s, the focus now turns to the final battles of the 2026 season, following the division 1 draw, Chances of two top sides KCB and Kabras meeting in Cup Quarters is high and as a result , the overall Circuit winners might be decided in Quarters.