After registering a 33-33 draw with the Kenya Simbas in the first game of the Africa Gold Cup, the Rugby Cranes have already pitched camp in Dakar, the Senegal capital ahead of their second game of the championship.
The Cranes conceded a late penalty try to draw with Kenya and now have their eyes set on picking a vital win in West Africa to boost their chances of landing the Africa Gold Cup.
“We have three home games but we have to deals with the ones away first. This weekend I hope we can find our rhythm and win to give ourselves a good chance,” Rugby Cranes captain Brian Odongo revealed ahead of the game.
Uganda defeated Senegal in the 2015 Rugby Afrique Tier 1B tournament that was held in Kampala.
Head coach John Duncan is impressed with Uganda’s performance so far as they seek to remain in 1A for a chance to qualify for 2019 World Cup.
Last year, Uganda won in Harare but lost at home to Namibia and to Kenya in Nairobi.
That, however, was enough to maintain Tier 1A status as Zimbabwe finished last only to avoid relegation through the expansion of Tier 1A from four to six teams.
Prior to the start of the Gold Cup, Uganda had only played one competitive game which was the 23-18 loss in the first leg of the Elgon Cup.
“We are having a look at the video of the game we played against Kenya so as to work on some errors but generally I am happy with the performance and the commitment by the players to come back in the second half and put up an impressive performance,” Head coach Duncan revealed.
Senegal started the campaign with a disappointing 28-16 home loss to the Zimbabwe Sables and will be looking to bounce back against the 2007 African champions.
Uganda lie third on the 6-team log with two points after the Kenya stalemate while Senegal are yet to collect a point in the campaign.
Zimbabwe lead the table with five points while Namibia and Tunisia are yet to play their first games.