Simbas braced for Uganda Gold Cup showdown

The national 15s rugby national team will name their squad on Thursday ahead of their mouth-watering Rugby Africa Gold Cup clash against rivals Uganda over the weekend.

The fixture which kicks off at 3:00pm EAT at Nairobi’s RFUEA Grounds also doubles up as the second leg of the Elgon Cup.

Kenya’s Simbas go into the encounter with the advantage having won the first leg 34-16 in Kampala a fortnight ago.

Ian Snook’s men kicked off their Gold Cup campaign on a high note thanks to a 28-24 away win at Morocco before leaving it late to edge Zimbabwe 45-36 last weekend and will be eyeing a third straight qualifying win.

With Simbas Rugby World Cup qualification hopes still alive all is left is to defend the Elgon Cup, the silverware that the two East African nations have competed for on a home and away basis.

In the same breath Uganda’s Rugby Cranes have named Six Kenya Cup players in the Uganda’s 24-man squad set to travel to Nairobi for Saturday’s Africa Gold Cup match against Kenya Simbas at the RFUEA Grounds.

Kabras Sugar winger Philip Wokorach, who plies his trade with Kenya Cup runners up Kabras Sugar, returns to the squad and is joined by teammates Pius Ogena and Asuman Mugerwa.

Nondescripts winger James Odong, Kenya Harlequins’ Aaron Ofoyrwoth and Ronald Musajja are others named by head coach John Duncan.

Uganda cranes kicked off their campaign with a 55-6 loss away to Namibia on the opening day of the Gold Cup and a win for them against the home team will breathe life into their hopes of a World Cup qualification come 2019 in Japan.

The Cranes have never won against Simbas since their historical first win in Nairobi at the Kasarani Stadium in 2013 that ended in a 17-16 close win over the Simbas in the nail biting Elgon Cup 15 years ago.

The Simbas on the other hand routinely won the first leg of the 2018 Elgon Cup beating Uganda 16-34 on May 26, in Kampala positioning the visitors on a complex situation.

Cranes must come from a -15 deficit and win with a bonus point if they stand a chance of winning the Elgon Cup silverware this year.

The Kenya squad will be named on Thursday morning at RFUEA grounds by head coach Ian Snook.