2025 Rugby Africa Cup | Quarterfinal | Tuesday
- Uganda 24-32 Kenya
Uganda’s hopes of reaching the 2027 Rugby World Cup were dashed at home on Tuesday after a 32–24 loss to rivals Kenya in a fiery Rugby Africa Cup quarterfinal at Mandela National Stadium.
The defeat ends the Rugby Cranes’ path to automatic qualification, while Kenya marches on to a semifinal showdown with Zimbabwe on July 13. The winner of that clash secures Africa’s lone direct ticket to the World Cup in Australia.
As expected, the East African derby delivered drama. Kenya drew first blood in the 20th minute through Griffin Chao, then doubled their lead with Barry Young’s try, both converted by Jone Kubu to make it 12–0.
Uganda’s response came just before halftime, with Aaron Ofoyrwoth crashing over and Philip Wokorach converting to make it 12–7 at the break.
Kenya pulled ahead again early in the second half with a penalty, followed by tries from George Nyambua and Chao, his second of the game, extending the Simbas’ lead to 29–10.
But Uganda wasn’t done. Wokorach and Byron Oketayot scored back-to-back tries to cut the gap to just five points with ten minutes left, electrifying the home crowd.
Then, with three minutes remaining, Young coolly slotted a drop goal to shut the door on Uganda’s comeback and seal Kenya’s spot in the final four.
The win is a major step for the Simbas, who narrowly missed out on qualification in 2022 and 2024. Their preparations including a recent training camp in South Africa appear to be paying off.
Zimbabwe, Kenya’s next opponent, reached the semifinals by beating Morocco 28–20. Whoever wins that clash punches their ticket to Australia; the loser faces a tough intercontinental playoff.
For Uganda, the loss cuts deep and they will face Morocco in their classification match on Sunday 13th July at 12:00 PM.
Other matches on the day saw Zimbabwe triumph over Morocco 43-8, Algeria dominate Cote D’Ivoire 41-6 and Senegal fall to Namibia 17-55.
Sunday matches will include;
- Cote D’Ivoire Vs Senegal – 10 AM
- Uganda Vs Morocco – 12 PM
- Algeria Vs Namibia – 2 PM
- Zimbabwe Vs Kenya – 4 PM
