Onyango lays Africa Cup target for Rugby Cranes

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What you need to know:

Hoodoo Ends. Uganda prepared for a mere three days for the Safari Sevens but  flew back home all smiles having won the Plate. It’s the first time since 2006 that Uganda won something.

The Rugby Sevens Cranes capped off the international season with silverware after beating Zimbabwe 29-12 in the Plate final of the Safari 7s held at Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi over the weekend.

Kenya Shujaa were the biggest winners having defeated Germany 12-5 in the main Cup final to keep the Holy Grail home. 

The champions dumped Uganda out of the main Cup with a 19-12 victory at the quarterfinal stage, placing Uganda in the plate category which they won. 

The victory has lifted spirits in the group with more victories to look forward to as Guinness keeps backing  the two time African Champions.

Coach Tolbert Onyango was at the wheel when Uganda won back to back Africa Cup titles in 2016 and 2017 in Nairobi and Kampala respectively. 

Onus on Uganda
He is challenging the side to win Uganda’s third continental title next year. 

“It has been a good outing with five out of six wins. Lots of positives and the trophy is a major boost for us and we can turn our attention to the Africa Cup which we want to win,” Onyango told Daily Monitor. 

The 2018 Africa Cup saw Uganda finish third behind Kenya and Zimbabwe while the Cranes lost 29-0 to Kenya in the 2019 final. It was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the limitations that came with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Uganda’s side at the Safari 7s was a young one with Adrian Kasito the most experienced of the lot. 

The appointment of a young captain in Ian Munyani for the tournament shows Onyango is gradually moving away from the old guns. The introduction of debutants Karim Arinaitwe, Innocent Gwokto and Ivan Otema was a bold move to give them a taste of international rugby against quality opposition. 

There is depth and with the help of the experienced players in Michael Wokorach, Pius Ogena, Joseph Aredo and Desire Ayera among others who stayed home, there is reason to expect better returns at both the Africa Cup and Safari 7s next year.

UGANDA AT SAFARI 7s

Pool Games
Uganda 24-0 Kenya Morans
Uganda 24-14 KCB
Uganda 19-10 Spain

Main Cup Quarterfinal
Shuja 19-12 Uganda

Plate semifinal
Uganda 17-14 Samurai

Plate final
Uganda 29-12 Zimbabwe