The Uganda Rugby Cranes will look back on Saturday and curse what they did in the first half against Zimbabwe, which couldn’t be undone by Philip Wokorach’s second-half takeover.
The Zimbabwe Sables were 22-20 winners over the Uganda rugby Cranes, with the former setting up shop in Uganda’s first half all game to score all 22 points.
The Sables’ early possession paid off, with the Southern Africans going into a 12-00 lead 17 minutes in, courtesy of two tries to either wingers Takudzwa Musingwini and Edward Sigauke on their respective sides of the pitch. Ian Prior converted one.
Nothing seemed to go well for the hosts as the set piece kept struggling, the lineout was diffused that even any escapes from danger wouldn’t result in ball retention. The ruck speed was slow, the line defense poor and the scrum was getting walked over for fun. To add insult to injury, Opio Julius would see yellow after half an hour and the Sables add ten points to their already growing tally with a Penalty and a barnstorming try through damaging center Kudzai Mashawi to lead 22-00 at the half.
The second half right away saw the introduction of experienced campaigners Joseph Aredo in the backline and Alex Aturinda among the forwards. Aredo plugged some command in the back, while Aturinda lifted the forwards’ momentum. Not before long, Uganda were awarded a penalty and Philip Wokorach slotted it over. Three minutes later, assisted by fellow African Champion Timothy Kisiga, Wokorach broke the line and made a run for the goal area, scoring and converting a sensational try to bring the score to 22-10.
He would add a penalty before making another attacking run, to set up his younger brother Innocent Thomas Gwokto to score under the posts. The resulting conversion would then bring the game to 22-20. Philip would have won the game for Uganda after calling for an audacious penalty kick from Uganda’s own, but the legs were not in agreement to give him the distance.
Zimbabwe Sables would hold on to defeat the Uganda Cranes 22-20 and extend their unbeaten run against the latter to 7 years. The Sables advance to the semifinals to be played on Wednesday where they will come up against perennial winners Namibia, while Uganda will play Burkina Faso in the placement games. The goal is to avoid last place, as the top 7 will qualify for the Rugby Africa Cup 2025, a crucial tournament for the qualification for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
1 comment
Honestly, the lads looked like they were under some pressure and shell shocked in first half. Individual brilliance saved our second half. The team never played as a team oba we took long to make subs??. On that note I will attend Wednesday games cos am sure we shall rip the opponent apart. Naye fitness, we had..