The Uganda Rugby Cranes, on Sunday evening, defeated the Kenya Simbas to win the 2023 edition of the Victoria Cup.
The hosts needed a last-minute penalty by substitute Liam Walker, known to Ugandan rugby folk as Ssekitoleko, to break the Kenyan hearts.
Strong start by Kenya Simbas
After a minute’s silence in the memory of former Kenya international forward Edward Kinyany, who passed away on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, the Simbas were hot off the shelf.
They scored two tries in the opening 10 minutes thanks to Teddy Akala’s unconverted try from the rolling maul putting them 5-0 up after five minutes, and some Jone Kubu magic to set up winger Joel Inzunga.
The scoreboard read 12-00 to Kenya, sending a deafening silence across the Kings Park Arena in Bweyogerere.
Maomu and Wanyama lead Rugby Cranes fight back
Captain Ivan Magomu would lessen the deficit with two well-taken penalties to cut Kenya’s lead to 6. It was all Uganda in the first half from there on, with Kenya doing the defending.
After mounds of pressure, with Uganda securing a penalty advantage, Conrad Wanyama caught the Simbas’ defence napping to score nifty close to the poles.
Ivan Magomu would convert to give Uganda a well-deserved 13-12 lead and send the game into the break.
Uganda had two penalties to extend the lead early in the second half, but they both sailed wide before Jone Kubu slid in one for the Kenyans to take back the lead, 13-15.
End to end action
With the clock winding down, Jone Kubu kicked away Kenya’s possession into Timothy Kisiga’s safe hands, who broke three tackles before finding his skipper Ivan Magomu, who offloaded to an oncoming Joseph Oyet, with the winger racing toward the whitewash for Uganda’s second try of the day and put Uganda 18-15 in the lead.
Three minutes later, Kenya Simbas were in for their third try of the day, Joel Inzuga’s second, but Kubu, again, skewed the extras, leaving the scores at 18-20.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man
Despite the pressure on the home side, the backline put together a set play which landed in Kisiga’s hand, who could only be taken down by a high tackle, to which the referee handed out a penalty.
With the clock run down and the game on the line, Liam Walker stepped up and split the uprights, giving Uganda the 21-20 win.
With that win, Uganda beat Kenya for only the second time in the last 12 encounters and won a 15s trophy for the first time in a long time. Uganda was crowned Victoria Cup winners, while Kenya came second and Zambia finished third.
The Victoria Cup finale also served as the Elgon Cup first leg. Uganda will go into Kisumu this weekend knowing they have a massive target on their backs and are tasked to win the Elgon Cup, a title Uganda hasn’t won in over 10 years.
Courtesy Photos
