Rugby Africa Cup Placement Semi-finals Results:
Senegal 25-08 Ivory Coast
Uganda 22-15 Burkina Faso
The Uganda men’s national rugby XVs team, known as the Rugby Cranes, secured a hard-fought 22-15 victory over Burkina Faso in the semi-final placement fixture of the 2024 Rugby Africa Men’s Cup at Mandela National Stadium, Namboole, on Wednesday.
This win means Uganda will contest the 5th/6th position match against Senegal on Sunday at the same venue. Senegal earlier defeated Ivory Coast 25-08, while the semi-final placement losers will battle for the 7th/8th position.
On a chilly day at Namboole, Burkina Faso initially took the lead with a try but failed to convert. Shortly after, Philip Wokorach scored a penalty goal, making it 3-5. Uganda then seized momentum, with Shakim Ssembusi crossing for their first try after an offload from Innocent Gwoko. Wokorach added the extras, bringing the score to 10-5.
Building on their performance, Uganda extended their lead to 15-5 through Philip Wokorach’s try, set up by Conrad Wanyama, who capitalized on a scrum-half pick off the scrum. Burkina Faso responded towards the end of the first half with a try, making it 15-10, but failed to convert. The halftime score favored Uganda, 15-10, amidst cheers from the home crowd.
Early in the second half, the teams remained evenly matched until Uganda earned a penalty try, capitalizing on strong forward play in the scrum, advancing their lead to 22-10. Burkina Faso narrowed the gap to 22-15 with a try shortly after but missed the conversion. The match concluded 22-15 in favor of Uganda.
Meanwhile, today’s action at Namboole includes the main cup semifinals: Kenya will face Algeria at 2:00 PM, followed by Zimbabwe versus Namibia at 4:00 PM.
The Rugby Africa Cup will culminate in an exciting finale on Sunday, July 28, at 4:00 PM, following earlier matches for the 7th, 5th, and 3rd places. Namibia, with a record nine titles, including last year’s victory over Kenya, leads the standings, followed by South Africa with three titles. Kenya and Morocco have each lifted the Cup twice, while Uganda and Zimbabwe have claimed it once.
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