Classy Mukidza leads Simbas to Elgon Cup glory

The Kenya fifteens rugby national team successfully defended their Elgon Cup trophy after a 38-22 win over Uganda cranes at the RFUEA ground.

Kenya ran in five converted tries and one penalty against Uganda’s four tries and one conversion for a 78-33 aggregate win.

Davis Chenge, Samson Onsomu, Jacob Ojee, Felix Ayange and Moses Amusala scored a try each for Kenya with Darwin Mukidza converting all tries and adding a penalty to his name.

Kabras Sugar winger Philip Wokorach scored two tries with Michael Wokorach and Ivan Magomu also inking their names on the scoresheet for the Ugandans.

In Uganda, Kenya Simbas, in a routine check, won the first leg of the 2018 Elgon Cup beating Uganda 16-34 on May 26 at the Legend’s Club Kampala.

In a repeated scenario, the Simbas dipped in the second half, and there were nervous moments when the visitors narrowed the gap after trailing 28-5 at the break.

Nonetheless, the Simbas ensured the job was done; picking their third win of the Gold Cup and fourth since Ian Snook took over the coaching role.

What kicked off as a nervy start after Kenya had broken the deadlock quickly turned out into a field day for the Simbas as they mauled the Rugby Cranes with ease.

Jacob Ojee, who made his return to the starting line-up after missing last weekend’s win against Zimbabwe, sliced through the Uganda defence to break the deadlock within the opening five minutes, dotting down on the right corner after Kenya pressed the Ugandans in their own 22-yard.

Skipper Davis Chenge, Samson Onsomu, and Felix Ayange, scored the other tries for Kenya just before the intervals for a 28-5 lead.

In the second half,  Simbas huffed and puffed for a convincing win but were halted by the well organised Ugandan defence.

The Ugandans scored 15 points in the second half, while Kenya only had eight points off Mukidza penalty and a converted try.

Uganda looked the better side after the intervals with Uganda flyhalf Ivan Magomu combining well with Wokarach and Justin Kimono to score two quick unconverted tries.

However, the Ian Snook coached side were rewarded by a Mukidza’s second half penalty only for Amusala to score a last minute try which was converted by Mukidza to seal the much needed win.

For the win, Kenya picks four points in the Africa Gold Cup to stay second with 12 as Namibia leads the 12-team log with 15 points.

Assistant coach Dominique Habimana was impressed with the outcome and challenged his charges to maintain the consistency heading to the next game.

“Good win for us ,our scrummaging lineouts were better compared to last week, and heading to the next fixture against Tunisia we will try to maintain that consistency and tempo,” Habimana said in an interview with Citizen Digital.

The Kenyans will shift their focus to Tunisia in their next fixture from August 11 before heading out to Namibia for season finale.

Habimana sentiments were echoed by skipper Davis Chenge who was satisfied with the win and urged his teammates to raise the tempo heading to the penultimate stage.

“It was a good game; a win for us is a huge boost for the boys heading to the next games and I would urge my team- mates to maintain that tempo and focus towards attaining our goal of qualifying for the 2019 World Cup,” Chenge said.

Uganda winger Aaron Ofoyrwoth who plies his trade with Kenyan side, Kenya Harlequins, was awarded man of the match for his splendid performance in the mouth watering fixture.

For the win, Simbas were awarded KSh  500,000 by Nairobi Senator Johnstone Sakaja.

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uganda Simbas Elgon Cup Drawin Mukidza

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