Odongo still wants victory against rivals Kenya

Kampala- Rugby Cranes have already played the most important game of their international season and passed with flying colours.

Last Saturday’s five-try 34-27 victory over Zimbabwe away in Harare ensured Africa Cup tier 1A status for at least one more season.

That was the ceiling though there is still a game to come – tomorrow in Kenya – to wind up the Africa Cup.

This game at the Rugby Union of East Africa (RFUEA) grounds, Ngong Road, also acts as a return leg of the annual two-team Elgon Cup.

Kenya smothered Uganda 48-10 here last month in the first leg to assert their zeal to reclaim the title they lost here while fielding a weakened side then.

At the end of 2015, when Uganda got promoted from 1B, and the start of this year, it was preached that retaining 1A status was the ultimate target for the team.

With that achieved, Rugby Cranes’ captain Brian Odongo and his teammates will be forgiven for borrowing from the economics concept of target workers.

They find no reason to work once their presumed target is hit. Odongo is refusing to relegate the Elgon Cup to a faded footnote.

“The winner of Saturday’s game gets to host two home games in next year’s 1A thereby having a bigger shot at probably winning,” Odongo told Daily Monitor.

In order to retain the Cup, Uganda will have to overturn that 38-point differential tomorrow, something that Odongo doesn’t beleive is insurmountable.
“(The) 38-points is quite a big margin to overturn. (It) would be a good target to set the game going as anything short would mean victory,” he added.

Winning away from home will be as daunting as Rugby Cranes last beat Kenya in their den three years ago in a 17-16 result.
Even then, that was a first positive result in six years.

The T20 League
GROUP A:
Patidar, Tornado Bee, Kutchi Tigers, ACC, KICC, Charity TF, JACC, Jinja SS, Pirates and Budo

GROUP B:
Nile, Challengers, Wanderers, SKLPS, Tornado, Aziz Damani, Mwiri, Premier, Avengers, and Strikers.

Former winners
2015: Patidar Samaj (bt. Nile in final)
2014: Challengers (bt. KICC)
2013: Wanderers (bt. Tornado)
2012: Tornado (bt. Charity TF)

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