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Uganda Rugby Cranes coach Fred Mudoola has broken down what he feels let his team down during their home loss to Kenya in the Africa Cup at Namboole on Tuesday.
Uganda Rugby Cranes coach Fred Mudoola feels his players’ mentality let them down during their Africa Cup loss to Kenya on Tuesday.
The Rugby Cranes will once again compete for fifth place in the Africa Cup after a 32-24 quarter-final defeat to the Kenya Simbas at the Mandela National Stadium annexe pitch.
A lackluster performance from the replacement pack and captain Byron Oketayot contributed to the loss and Mudoola feels a lot went wrong that would have been avoided had his players’ mentality been right.
“The fact that we lost, the game wasn’t good but if you break down the game into the principles of play that is both defence and attack, there are places we scored high, others we did not but it the end we lost so definitely it was not good,” Mudoola said after the game.
“We are going to review the video and correct the wrongs definitely and also review the opponent and strategise for sure. After such a loss, the first thing is to look at the video and look at where to work on.
Coach Mudoola Questions Players’ Mentality
“Most importantly is to work on the guys’ mentality right now because losing the game the way they did, definitely they have to get their spirits high.”
The Cranes started strongly, absorbing early pressure from the Simbas with solid defence before Aaron Ofoywoth's excellent clearing kick gave them some breathing room to attack.
However, an early attacking opportunity went begging when Pius Ogena opted to carry the ball instead of passing to Philip Wokorach and Claude Otema. Moments later, Wokorach missed a penalty kick, letting Kenya off the hook.
Handling errors and penalties plagued Uganda's attack in the first quarter. Kenya capitalised on this, scoring the opening try through Griffin Chao after a sweeping move initiated by flyhalf Barry Young. They extended their lead when Walter Okoth broke through the Ugandan defence, leading to a try for Young under the posts.
Just before halftime, Ofoywoth's quick thinking resulted in a try for Uganda, with Wokorach adding the conversion. Kenya responded with a drop goal from Young to further their lead.
Basic Errors Cost Rugby Cranes against Simbas
Timothy Kisiga's introduction injected life into Uganda's attack, leading to a penalty that Wokorach converted. However, the introduction of Blair Ayebazibwe and Saul Kivumbi to the forward pack coincided with a defensive scrum collapse, allowing Kenyan captain George Nyambua to score. Kenya quickly capitalised on Uganda's disarray, with Samuel Asati setting up Chao for another try under the posts.
Kisiga then intercepted a pass and ran 70 meters before being tackled. The ensuing play resulted in a try for Wokorach, who danced past Kenyan defenders to score.
Uganda continued to press, with Wokorach breaking the Kenyan defensive line. After some questionable decisions from Liam Walker and Conrad Wanyama, Ian Munyani found Adrian Kasito, whose grubber kick was collected by Oketayot for Uganda's third try.
Despite the late surge, a final drop goal from Young sealed the victory for Kenya. The Cranes will now aim to match their fifth-place finish from last year.
The Rugby Cranes will now take on Morocco in the placement semi-final on Sunday while Kenya take on Zimbabwe as Namibia face Algeria in the cup semi-final later on the same day.
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