Kenya Simbas maul hapless Cranes to clinch Elgon Cup

In Kampala

Kenya Simbas silenced a Ugandan crowd at the Kings Park Arena to win the second leg of the Elgon Cup on Saturday, beating Rugby Cranes 21-5 and retain the series title with a 48-30 aggregate score.

Having gone into the second leg with a slim two-point lead following last Saturday’s 27-25 victory in Nairobi, the Simbas got the perfect start in Kampala to stretch their advantage.

It was Simbas' 11th cup victory, having not lost to Rugby Cranes since 2016.

From kick-off, Kenya pinned Uganda in their 22-metre territory and had Ephraim Oduor going over for the game’s opening try.

Timothy Omela added the extras and the visitor stretched their advantage to nine points.

That was before Eugine Sifuna crashed over for another try, which was converted by Omela to stretch the lead to 14-0. 

The hosts were in sixes and sevens, struggling to retain possession in contact and losing grip of the wet ball whenever they tried to get the ball to the backline. 

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Lanky flanker Andycole Omollo landed his maiden try for the Simbas from the maul as Omela converted a try for Kenya ensured the visitors went into the halftime break with a comfortable 21-0 lead despite Alfred Orege being sin-binned.

Fred Mudoola and his charges were in a spot of bother and needed a big second half to impress the partisan crowd that had gone silent. 

But the multiple changes made at halftime and early in the second half only managed to ensure there were no more points conceded rather than go for it.

Ian Munyani and Timothy Kisiga came off the bench to inject some life into the game but the Kenyan defence had answers to every question paused by Uganda. 

“We wanted to start strong and we were very physical from the first whistle, which helped us control the tempo of the game,” Kenya Simbas’ head coach Jerome Paarwater said after the game.

With action mainly in the Ugandan half for the entire first half, Innocent Gwokto’s run on the turn of possession was the only minor threat but the Kenyan defence recovered to clear their lines.

Shakim Ssembusi missed Uganda’s first opportunity to put points on board as his penalty swerved wide of the posts with the scoreline at 7-0.

The Simbas were momentarily reduced to 14 after Orege was sent to the sin-bin but Uganda failed to capitalize in the end. 

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Uganda’s habit of starting slow continued to reveal its ugly head as Kenya went up 21-0 midway through the first half to close the contest.

Mudoola, who only arrived from South Africa with his assistant yesterday, had no time to be with the team since the last game in Nairobi. 

“We didn’t tick the key factors, the principles of play went against us both in attack and de 21-5fence,” Mudoola said after the defeat. 

“The poor starts are costing us, and this goes as far back as three years now,” he added. 

A more improved shift in the second half only saw Uganda get points on board through Sidney Gongodyo’s try which came right at the end as Kenya continued to dominate the two-nation series.

Ssembusi missed another shot at the posts in the second half to compound Uganda’s kicking misery that stretched from the first leg.

Uganda’s last triumph in the competition came in 2015, and the wait continues.

The two sides will meet in the quarter-final of the Rugby Africa Cup that will count for the 2027 Rugby World Cup qualifier in June next year in Kampala.