- Emirates Invitational 7s – Tournament Two: Day Two Results
- Main Cup Quarterfinal: France 33-07 Uganda
- Plate Semifinal: Uganda 24-19 Japan (ET)
- 5th Place Playoff: Uganda 05-36 Kenya
Uganda Men’s Sevens have concluded their campaign at the Emirates Invitational 7s with a sixth-place finish in the second tournament.
Just like was in the first tournament last weekend, Uganda won only one game on the second day. However, it is a higher finish due to the fact that the win came a game earlier in the plate semifinal against Japan.
The first match against France exposed Uganda’s long-term weaknesses on defense with poor kick receipt and multiple missed tackles. The team was also unable to maintain possession against the French as they had done the previous day.
Against Japan, Uganda played in their element and was in control from kickoff. The team maintained possession for longer phases and exploited the width of the pitch better. However, they were largely inefficient in the red zone which gave Japan a chance to snatch the win from their grip. Luckily, they held on to score a last-gasp sudden death try in extra time for their only win of the weekend.
Uganda thereafter met Kenya for the second time in the tournament during the 5/6th place playoff match. Unlike the first match where Uganda put up a better contest, this was dominated by Kenya.
Aaron Ofoywroth was yet again caught on the wrong side of the law. Ofoywroth got sent to the bin for leading with his elbow into contact which dented Uganda’s chances almost immediately.
Head coach Tolbert Onyango has just about met the targets he set for this training camp. Before flying out of the country, Onyango revealed that he sought an improvement in performance from the last competition his team played. Additionally, he was able to test his team against higher-ranked core sevens sides in their first post-COVID competition.
Overall, Uganda will be somewhat happy with their performance in Dubai but will be holding themselves accountable for the errors committed during the two tournaments.
The two-month period until the Olympic Games Repechage is a window to fix these errors and compete for a ticket to Tokyo.