The Uganda Rugby Cranes suffered a narrow defeat to Zimbabwe in a thrilling match on Day 1 of the 2024 Rugby Africa Cup at the Mandela Stadium, Namboole on Saturday.
Despite being down 22-0 at halftime, the Rugby Cranes staged a remarkable comeback in the second half, with Philip Wokorach and Innocent Gwokto contributing to a 22-20 scoreline.
However, the effort was not enough to secure a win, and the team was eliminated from the tournament on the first day.
The Rugby Cranes will now face Burkina Faso in the classification semifinal on Wednesday, July 24, with the goal of avoiding an eighth-place finish to remain in contention for a World Cup slot.
Meanwhile, Kenya and Namibia qualified for the semifinals with impressive wins over Senegal (37-17) and Burkina Faso (38-5), respectively.
The tournament semifinals will take place on Wednesday, followed by the final on Sunday. Namibia, the reigning champions, have won the Rugby Africa Cup a record nine times, while South Africa has won three titles. Kenya and Morocco have each lifted the Cup twice, with Uganda and Zimbabwe having won it once.
