Mudoola: Early preparations a must for next year

Victories over Burkina Faso and Senegal eventually landed Uganda fifth place to set up a clash with Kenya in next year’s quarterfinal when the competition returns to Kampala.

Kenya lost 38-22 to Namibia in the third-place final to finish fourth and set next year’s clash with their East African rivals.

More preps needed

In the aftermath of Uganda’s final game of the tournament, head coach Fred Mudoola told Daily Monitor the team would need serious training before entering next year’s competition to stand a chance of qualifying for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

“The one month, two months training won't cut it,” Mudoola said.

“The team and whoever will be in charge will need enough time to put his ideas across,” he added.

Prior to this year’s competition, the Cranes had seven players sent out for a high-performance program in South Africa. The players were attached to Harlequin Rugby Club, an affiliate of the Blue Bulls.

Santos Senteza, Faragi Odugo, Byron Oketayot, Eliphaz Emong, Sydney Gongodyo and Conrad Wanyama were later joined by the rest of the squad in South Africa for an intense 10-day training camp in Gauteng, before returning home for further preparations.

Upon return, the Rugby Cranes held a five-day residential camp at the Youth With A Mission Hopeland campus in Wairaka, Jinja and from there, Mudoola named his squad for the tournament. 

Not enough

Team captain Ivan Magomu admitted before the tournament kicked off that the Uganda Rugby Union had done everything to ensure the team gets the best preparation for the continental showpiece.

But results of the camps in South Africa were hardly visible in terms of how the team expressed itself on the field of play.

Missed tackles, failed lineouts and leaky defence are some of the glaring mistakes that left the crowd at Namboole with heads in hands.

“What disappointed me is that we didn’t stick to our structure. We really spent time on structure in attack but there were a number of turnovers at the ruck,” Mudoola revealed.

“We spent time on the defence but there were a number of missed tackles. When we kicked, chasing up was also poor and the opponents kept finding gaps.”

The goal for the Cranes was to get into the final, at the very least, but a terrible first half performance against the Zimbabwe Sables saw the home team bundled out on Day One.

It now remains to be seen whether Mudoola will retain his place at the helm for next year’s competition.  

Rugby Africa Cup 2024

Winner: Zimbabwe

Silver medalists: Algeria

Bronze medalists: Namibia

Fourth: Kenya

Fifth: Uganda

Sixth: Senegal

Seventh: Cote d’Ivoire

Relegated: Burkina Faso