Hostile weather and diet awaits Cranes

By Douglas Mazune and Johnson Were

CAR Cup semi-finals 

Wednesday 

Uganda v Kenya

Zimbabwe v Madagascar 

Sunday July 14

3rd Play-off, 12.30pm

Final (2:30pm)

RUGBY Cranes left for Madagascar last night not only well prepared for bitter rivals Kenya in the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR) Cup semi-final, but also for the non-technical aspects of weather and food.

Not to be confined to the rice and chicken menu in Madagascar, the Ugandans made the trip with millet and maize flour among other food items. They will prepare their own meals that are richer on carbohydrates.

“We shall either find a good cook that will mingle posho for us or negotiate with the hotel to give us access to the kitchen so do we it ourselves. They may not know how to prepare our kind of meals. It is also very cold in Madagascar so we advised players to carry warm clothing,” team manager Brian Tabaruka stated.

Tabaruka who was part of the Cranes team that won the CAR Cup in Madagascar in 2007 explained that players were ready to defy an intimi¬dating home crowd.

“Our players are mentally ready for a hostile environment should we face the home team at some stage. 

Tabaruka believes that Cranes, who will embark on their first training session this afternoon, will have acclimatised to the weather by Wednesday.

“Even our opponents Kenya face the same challenge with weather. We are both on a neutral ground and I trust the coach has worked out his training programme already,” Tabaruka stated.

Uganda will play Kenya in the first semifinal on Wednesday while Madagascar will take on Zimbabwe in the other semifinal later the same day. 

Uganda’s game against Kenya will be the third time the two sides meet in a space of one month.

The final will be played on Sunday. This tournament will also see the top three join Namibia in the next phase of the World Cup qualifier.

Uganda’s pride at stake

Meanwhile The Rugby Cranes have been urged to put Uganda’s pride at the forefront in Madagascar as they battle to reclaim the Africa Cup they lost in 2009.

Uganda Rugby Union officials and NCS chairman Bosco Onyik made the appeal on Saturday at Kyadondo, while flagging off the team.

“You are going to Madagascar not to have fun, but to represent 34 million Ugandans,” Walker stated before announcing a sh20m bonus for each win the team coasts to.

“Make Uganda proud and make sure you stay in tier 1A. You are going for a war and each player on the team must win his battle,” Walker stressed.

Friends of rugby, led by Jerry Burley have pledged a sh5m bonus, URU sh5m on top of the team’s official winning bonus of sh10m which brings the total to sh20m per game.

The team has two games: one against Kenya and either the final or third place play-off that determines who remains in tier 1A.