Elgon Cup pain fuelling Rugby Cranes machine
The team during a training session at Kyadondo RFC before departure.
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Many of the boys here were equally stunned by the result,” added Wokorach, one of the three captains in the 7s side set to line up against England, Australia and Sri Lanka at the 51,000-seater Ibrox Stadium this evening.
SCOTLAND- It could be a fortnight since Kenya humiliated Uganda in the Elgon Cup but that 34-0 return leg walloping is yet to sink in for some national team players.
“I still don’t understand what went wrong,” Michael Wokorach, who was forced to skip the game in order to travel here for the Commonwealth Games Rugby 7s, told Saturday Monitor in an interview last week.
“That result was a shock to me.
Many of the boys here were equally stunned by the result,” added Wokorach, one of the three captains in the 7s side set to line up against England, Australia and Sri Lanka at the 51,000-seater Ibrox Stadium this evening.
Wokorach is a cog in the 15s team and badly wanted to play a part before coming to Glasgow although the technical committee decided otherwise.
Painful loss
“After winning 21-14 in Kampala, we should have held on and taken the Cup. But I wasn’t in Nairobi so I can’t really discuss much about that result.
And you never know, we could still have lost with me on the team.”
That painful loss, Wokorach is hoping, can turn into the driving force this weekend.
“This is a far much bigger tournament than the Elgon Cup. Thankfully we have all tried to put the past behind ourselves and focus on the job at hand,” he offered.
“We are working so hard and trust me we’ll do well.”
Yayiro Kasasa, coaching the team alongside Tolbert Onyango, said mid-week a quarterfinal berth in the Main Cup is their target.
And Wokorach concurred with his coach a last eight slot is a possibility.
Uganda faced the same teams at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India but could only defeat Sri Lanka in the group stages.
England and Australia are technically miles ahead of Uganda but Kasasa has urged his troops to treat their opponents with no fear.
“Respect but fear no man,” Kasasa emphasized midweek.
TODAY AT IBROX STADIUM,
Australia vs. Uganda, 3:12pm
England vs. Uganda 8:24pm
Sri Lanka vs. Uganda, 10:42pm
All games live on SS7
UGANDA’S RESULTS IN 2010
Group stage
Australia 33-0 Uganda
England 55-0 Uganda
Uganda 35-5 Sri Lanka
Bowl quarterfinal
Uganda 26-14 Malaysia
Bowl semis
Canada 22-17 Uganda
UGANDA’S SQUAD
Michael Wokorach, Jasper Onen, Allan Otim,Lawrence Ssebuliba, Phillip Wokorach, Alfred Bijik, Ramadhan Govule,James Ijongat, Eric Kasiita, Eric Kasiita, Emmanuel Ecodu,Benon Kizza, Phillip Pariyo
