Despite a spirited brace from veteran fullback Philip Wokorach, Uganda’s Rugby Cranes came up short against a resurgent Morocco side in their Rugby Africa Cup 5th–8th placement semifinal, going down 24-12 at Namboole Stadium in Kampala.
The result sees the Atlas Lions of Morocco progress to the 5th Place Final where they will face Senegal, who earlier dispatched Ivory Coast 28-3. Uganda, meanwhile, will now contend with Ivory Coast in the 7th Place Final.
The North Africans came into the tie with a point to prove after a bruising 43-8 quarterfinal loss to Zimbabwe, and they did not take long to show intent. Just two minutes into the game, Adil Achahbar broke through a sluggish Ugandan defense to dot down, with El Kadri Naoufal calmly slotting the extras.
Morocco continued to dominate the breakdown and imposed themselves physically. In the 13th minute, Maamry Yassine extended their advantage with a second try following a neat offload play, and Naoufal once again converted to make it 14-0. Uganda, though buoyed by their home crowd, lacked rhythm and trailed at the break.
The second half brought more woes for Uganda. A powerful run by Karim Qadiri in the 54th minute resulted in Morocco’s third try, taking the score to 19-0 after Naoufal missed his first conversion of the day.
It wasn’t until the 63rd minute that Uganda finally got on the board through Wokorach, whose solo effort ignited brief hope for a comeback. However, Morocco responded swiftly, capitalizing on a lineout to set up Bilal Fadli for their fourth try, putting the result beyond doubt at 24-5.
Wokorach wasn’t done yet. He added a second try with four minutes left and converted it himself, but the clock was not on Uganda’s side. Despite their late push, Morocco held firm to seal the victory.
The loss means Uganda now turns their focus to salvaging pride against Ivory Coast, while Morocco will look to wrap up their campaign on a high against Senegal.
