Laiser Hill Academy from Metropolitan region on Saturday clinched their first rugby title after beating East African champions Maseno High School from Lake region 13-12 in tension-packed final as the curtain came down on the Brookside Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association Term One national games at Nakuru Boys High School.

The match, which attracted a huge crowd saw emotions, run high on and outside the pitch with rival fans clashing.

With Maseno leading 12-10 and with only 15 seconds remaining before the final whistle, fans threatened to disrupt the otherwise thrilling encounter.

Maseno, under coach Gilbert Onyango, went full throttle from the word go climbing over Laiser Hill and barely 35 seconds into the match, Brian Ochieng touched down a try for the Lake region side.

Inspired by the early try, Maseno were firmly on the driving seat in the eighth minute when Patrick Khafumi evaded a harsh tackle and outsprinted his markers to drill in a beautiful try that was superbly executed by Brian Ochieng for a comfortable 12-0 halftime lead.

But if the first-half belonged to Maseno, the second was dominated by Laiser Hill who turned the heat on their opponents with brilliant ball handling skills that saw them spread the ball to wings as Maseno defence worked overtime.

Dean Ochieng reduced the arrears for Laiser Hill when he booted a penalty in the 37th minute to send Maseno into a scare.

Eight minutes later, Laiser Hill’s hardworking player Kelvin Kioko touched down a try and Dean Ochieng converted.

The match seemed headed for 12-10 finish in favour of Maseno but referee Simon Kiarie penalised Maseno for an offside outside 22 metres mark.

Taking the resultant penalty with only 10 seconds to go, Ochieng’s blockbuster sent Laiser Hill to the lead to become the new national champions.

“Maseno beat us 8-5 in the opening match and apparently that defeat was a learning moment for us because we detected our weakness and we made quick fixes and that is what made us beat our opponents,” said Laiser Hill coach Kevin Wambua.

“The officiating was suspect and the referee literally handed our opponents victory in the last second by his dubious last call that was not genuine,” said Maseno coach Onyango.

Maseno captain Ogeto Gecheo conceded defeat and promised avenge the loss when the two teams meat in the East African Games in Rwanda in August.

“In sports, it is always good to be positive and accept the final outcome and today we have learnt a bitter lesson and come August they should be prepared for a bigger battle,” said 18 -year- old Gecheo who is in Form Four.

Laiser Hill captain Lucas Oppal could not hide his joy. “This is a great moment for us as we have never won a rugby title for nearly 30 years in the history of these games.”

In the play-offs, Kakamega High beat Kangaru 21-10 to make sure they returned home with a silverware.