Kenya’s Simbas are through to the semifinals of the Rugby Africa Cup after a thrilling 32-24 victory over bitter rivals Uganda Cranes in a pulsating quarterfinal clash held in Kampala on Monday evening.
The win sets up a highly anticipated semifinal date with Zimbabwe, scheduled for Sunday, July 13 at 4:00 PM EAT.
The Simbas came out firing, with Griffin Chao making an early statement by diving over the line for the game’s opening try. Though the conversion went wide, Kenya had claimed early dominance. The visitors doubled their advantage when Barry Young added a second try and converted it himself to stretch the lead to 12-0.
Uganda responded just before halftime with a converted try, narrowing the gap to 12-7 at the break.
After the interval, the Cranes kept the momentum, landing a penalty to close in at 12-10. But Young again proved pivotal for Kenya, slotting a drop goal to make it 15-10. Captain George Nyambua then muscled over from a ruck for Kenya’s third try, with Kubu adding the extras to extend the lead to 22-10.
Griffin Chao wasn’t done yet. He added his second try of the match straight off a lineout, carving through the Ugandan defense. Kubu’s conversion pushed the score to a commanding 29-10.
However, the Cranes were far from finished. Uganda mounted a spirited late rally, scoring two tries and a penalty to pull back to 29-24 in the dying minutes, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
But Kenya had the last word. Barry Young, calm under pressure, knocked over another drop goal to effectively seal the game at 32-24 and silence the home support.
