Nondies serve Rugby Cranes with wake up call

May 31, 2009

RUGBY Cranes won one game and lost the other in trial matches against Kenyan club Nondies on Saturday. The hosts raced to a 51-8 win in the first game before going down 19-12 in the other encounter.

Rugby Cranes trials
Uganda 51 Nondies 8
Second trial
Uganda 12 Nondies 19

Great Lakes 7s

G4S Pirates 24 Festival 0
Uganda 7’s 57 Rams 0
Mongers 31 Saracens 0
Rhinos 42 Festival 0
Rhinos 0 G4S Pirates 12
Toyota 7 Uganda 7’s 26


By Johnson Were


RUGBY Cranes won one game and lost the other in trial matches against Kenyan club Nondies on Saturday.

The hosts raced to a 51-8 win in the first game before going down 19-12 in the other encounter. Cranes faced little problems in the first game before they were exposed in the second.

Moses Soita gave Uganda’s national team a 5-0 lead with a try in the opener. But Charles Kanyi scored a penalty to hand Nondies a 10-5 lead.

The tide changed 10 minutes to half time when Matthias Ochwo won the ball from a scrum and made a try while Anthony Kinene converted a penalty as Uganda raced to a 12-10 first half lead.

Nondies returned with a strategy that yielded dividends with Kanyi getting a try and a conversion for a 17-12 score.

But Jeremy Matanga ended Uganda’s hopes of a comeback with a try before Kanyi converted to secure Nondies the win.

Cranes captain John Musoke described the defeat as, “a awake up call to the boys.”

Musoke said they are going to use the next few days to correct problems identified in the defeat.

Musoke’s team will play Tunisia in the semi final of the 2011 World Cup qualifiers later this month.

In the two-day Great Lakes Sevens tournament also in Entebbe, G4S Pirates, Mongers and Uganda 7s team had qualified for the semi-finals by press time.

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