Kenya Simbas dominated Uganda Rugby Cranes to win the first leg of the 2018 Elgon Cup 34-16 at Legends over the weekend.
First half tries from Jacob Ojee, Leo Seje and Oliver Mangeni (all converted by Darwin Mukidza) coupled with a penalty slotted in by the KCB winger gave the visiting Simbas a comfortable 24-9 lead at halftime before completing the rout after the break.
Kenya seemingly took the foot off the pedal in the second half and Rugby Cranes skipper forced one the over the try line but substitute centre Biko Adema banged the door at any possible come by the hosts with a late try for neighbours to seal a routine win.
“We have been training so hard. We were just sticking to the plan and keeping everything simple. The boys were fit and sharp so it was easier for us to say in the game for a very good time,” Simbas’ fly-half Isaac Adimo told Kawowo Sports.
“Our forwards played a part; we dominated in the breakdowns, in the lineouts, scrums and also in the racks. They made it easier for the backs to get the game going.
“We watched a couple of videos of Uganda play and we noticed they like to play tight so we decided to shift the ball wide and it played to our advantage.”
Asked on the importance of the game heading into the Africa Gold Cup which will double as the 2019 World Cup qualifiers, Adimo said:
It’s a good platform for us, everyone wants to qualify for the world cup and everyone is putting their best foot forward. It’s good we started with a win so it put a positive attitude in the boys and we hope to be doing better as we go further.
Kenya will start the Gold Cup campaign away to Morocco on June 23 followed by a three-game home stand against Zimbabwe, Uganda and Tunisia on June 30, July 7 and August 11 respectively before finishing off against Namibia on August 18.