Prime
Rugby Cranes in control
Scot Oluoch (R) breaks through the Mauritius defence to score a try for Uganda on last year. file photo
KAMPALA- Only three of the six teams competing in the ongoing Rugby Africa Cup 1B will have a shot at promotion to 1A when the tournament winds up tomorrow at Kyadondo grounds.
However, only Uganda have it in their own hands. A bonus-point victory, awarded for scoring four tries in a game, will guarantee elevation regardless of the results in the other two games.
Having scored five tries in each of their two wins thus far, a 40-11 rout of Ivory Coast last Sunday and Wednesday’s 35-11 triumph against Mauritius, Rugby Cranes have 10 points.
Madagascar lie second on nine points while Senegal, on six, is the other team with an outside chance of turning the tables on the hosts.
By the time captain Brian Odongo leads out the Rugby Cranes, they will have seen Madagascar face win-less Mauritius.
If Madagascar win while also scoring four tries, they will move to 14 points. That will imply that Uganda will then have to beat Botswana at the very least. Anything less than four tries would mean it comes down to points’ difference for the two sides where Uganda head into the weekend with 53-point cushion and the Islanders are +22.
“The plan was to win by a huge margin. This tournament could come down to points’ difference,” the prop said after beating the Ivorians.
Uganda have beaten Botswana twice before, 56-7 here in 2002 and 27-10 away in Gaborone seven years ago.
Head coach John Duncan has refused to get dragged into mathematics involved. He knows that only a gigantic collapse tomorrow will deny his side.
“Our only target is to win. Rugby is a funny game. If you go ahead with scores, you will be shocked,” Duncan argued this week.
Senegal also still retain faint hopes but those would require both Uganda and Madagascar being embarrassed while they sweep aside Ivory Coast with a bonus point. That’s a long short.
Head coach John Duncan has refused to get dragged into mathematics involved. He knows that only a gigantic collapse tomorrow will deny his side.
“Our only target is to win. Rugby is a funny game. If you go ahead with scores, you will be shocked,” Duncan argued this week.
Senegal also still retain faint hopes but those would require both Uganda and Madagascar being embarrassed while they sweep aside Ivory Coast with a bonus point. That’s a long short.
RUGBY AFRICA TIER 1B
TOMORROW’S FIXTURES AT KYADONDO
Senegal vs. Ivory Coast, 12.30pm
Madagascar vs. Mauritius, 2.30pm
Uganda vs. Botswana, 4.30pm
