Men’s Pools
Pool A: Chile, Italy, Jamaica, Tonga
Pool B: Brazil, Germany, Korea, Uganda
Pool C: Belgium, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe
Uganda Sevens have been drawn in Pool B for Leg two of the World Rugby Challenger Series taking place in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Uganda’s impressive performance in week one of the Series saw them win five of their six games played to finish in fifth place.
Despite the disappointment of not making it to the main cup semifinals after defeat against Germany, Uganda bounced back to defeat Italy in the fifth-place final.
The Head coach Tolbert Onyango believes the team did well, though they had a few areas to improve on.
“We felt that we could have done a bit better in defence but the boys put in their hearts, they put in their level best under the circumstances,” he mentioned.
The week one positioning now has Uganda placed in Pool B alongside Germany, Brazil, and Korea for week two of the tournament.
After their quarter final exit in week one, the sevens Rugby Cranes are hoping to go all the way and secure the title this time round.
Onyango added: “It is going to be a fun-filled weekend with lots of action, and our aim is to get into the finals.”
With their only week one defeat coming from Germany, the Cranes will once again face the Germany side but this time in the group stage, providing a chance for redemption.
Weekend two of the series is with doubt going to be much tougher for the cranes. As cited by Tolbert Onyango, their defence will have to work much harder if they are to attain their goal of qualifying and playing in the final.
Also, the African Champions will have to showcase on-field discipline as this is what cost them in the first round of the tournament. Uganda registered a total of five cards in six games played including one red card.
Having to play with a numerical disadvantage is an immense challenge in sevens rugby especially when it comes to defence. The team must therefore look at maintaining discipline if they are to progress to their desired stage in the second round.
Their first pool game will be played against Brazil at 11.06hrs EAT before taking on Korea later in the day at 14.10hrs EAT.
