Baby Cranes find it hard out of the nest
Crash in Nairobi
In an exciting clash of the youngsters, the New Pretenders to the senior rugby thrones of Kenya and Uganda faced off against each other in the second Elgon Cup curtain-raiser match at the famous Harlequins ground in Nairobi last Saturday. The hosts emerged convincing victors, scoring 29 points to Uganda’s 10.
14.00 saw the second international of the day kick off and up into the balmy, mid-afternoon sun's rays that poured down through the thin, high-altitude atmosphere of temperate Nairobi where, for once, the weather and pitch conditions were, simultaneously, absolutely beautiful, Nairobi not being renowned for its climate.
By now a few Kenyan supporters had drifted into the ground and local faces were beginning to equal the number of traveling Ugandan fans, who were again limbering up “between matches” with some vital lubrication following on from their vociferous support during the Ugandan women’s narrow victory in the previous match.
The rejuvenating effects on the energy, singing ability and morale of rugby supporters here, following the imbibing of a couple of golden throat ticklers never ceases to amaze me.
The Kenyan side physically dwarfed the Ugandans, though by now no-one should be surprised about the relatively small size of Ugandan rugby players across the board, though this alone rarely hinders their performance.
Uganda fielded a mix of a few fringe full national team players, a number of rising stars with the balance made up of faces new to me, drawn from various school and college ranks. For most of them this was their first, fledgling foray into the boiling rugby cauldron that is Harlequins Rugby Club.
An intriguing battle between the two flyhalves started to develop almost immediately, with the improving abilities of Uganda’s Alfred Karekaho being obvious and at least a match for his opposite number Biko Adema. This was unfortunately disrupted bang on half-time with Karekaho finding himself in the naughty chair for the first 10 minutes of the second half, following a blatantly high tackle.
Kenya’s John Ouko was also exiled to a similarly jaundiced position later on in the second half of the match, effectively ruling himself out of the last part of the game, these being the only two cards shown in what was a very good-natured contest.
Physical weight as well as weight of numbers on the burst, quick hands and outright speed saw Kenya repeatedly crossing the chalk in the first half, their game plan and individual abilities seemingly able and flexible enough to operate with equal aplomb through the backs or the forwards as conditions dictated, with tries by lightening-quick wing Abera in the corner, lock Kopondo, Abera again and prop Gikaru on minutes 11, 19, 24 and 37 respectively. Centre Wambua converted two to make the score 24-7 at half-time, with Uganda’s Richard Lumu dotting down for the tourists on the 24-minute mark, successfully converted by Joel Anguyo.
A mountain remained to be climbed in the second half and the well-drilled Kenyans were not going to roll over and relinquish this home-turf lead easily.
Kenya scored again three minutes into the second half (unconverted) and the only other score after the break, in what became a defensive grind to the bitter end, was a three-pointer by Uganda on the seven minute mark. Kenya fully deserved their win, of that there is no doubt, one definite flash of inspiration in the second half from Uganda’s perspective being the return – off the bench following a long absence with injury – of Drake Muyodi, his powerful, bullocking runs lighting up the Ugandan attack. Watch out for this lad in the future, he makes absolutely no secret of his full national team slot pretensions.
I would have preferred to have seen the referee let the game flow a little more, particularly on the advantage, as his perpetual whistle-blowing (from what was admittedly a match marred by handling errors) did tend to kill the game from the spectator point of view at times. That said, no refereeing style would have changed the outcome and the Kenyan Under-21 men can be well pleased with a solid, convincing home win over their Emerging Cranes counterparts.
Two matches out of the three now down, with honours shared. What would happen in the main event of the day at 4 pm? It was time for some traveling fans to head to the bar again, before returning to the stands duly refreshed to find out……..
Scorers:
For Kenya Under-21:
Tries: Abera 2, Kopondo, Gikaru, undetermined
Cons: Wambua 2
For Uganda's Emerging Cranes:
Try: Lumu
Con: Anguyo
Pen: Anguyo
Kenya Under-21: 15 Julius Abwanzo,14 Edga Abere,13 Brian Assa, 12 Kevin Wambu,11 Paul Omulokoli,10 Biko Adema, 9 Joash Odhalo, 8 Brian Sagala,7 Eric Osiade, 6 Duncan Ekasi, 5 Wilson Kopondo, 4 Spencer Fundamier, 3 Desmond Muchemi, 2 Brian Simiyu, 1 Kennedy Gikaru;
Replacements: 16 John Macharia, 17 Peter Wekesa,18 Mark Karanja, 19 John Ouko, 20 John Warui, 21 Moses Kenyanya, 22 Sebastian Shivola
Uganda Emerging Cranes: 15 Samuel Rubanga,14 Richard Lumu,13 Raymond Baba, 2 Ricky Senoga, 11 Richard Kaliisa,10 Alfred Karekaho, 9 Abu Mayanja, 8 Drake Muyodi, 7 Steven Ogwete, 6 Joel Anguyo, 5 Timothy Dumba, 4 Brian Byaruhanga, 3 Bakulu Mpagi Simon, 2 Patrick Oguru,1 Solomon Mawanda (captain)
Rweplacements: 16 Ceaser Bugembe, 17 Denis Mulo, 18 Gordon Chonga, 19 Edgar Lemerigar, 20 Arnold Musoke, 21 Allan Masiko, 22 Brian Kwawun
Referee: Paul Weloba
Touch judges: Gordon Karuga, Raymond Oruo
By Jerry Burley in Nairobi
