Listening to both coaches during the post-match interviews after their respective matches against Zambia, one could tell that Leonard Lubambula and Dennis Mwanja were not satisfied with how their Uganda and Kenya teams respectively had played.
Lubambula and Mwanja noted that despite winning – by an identical 36-17 result, there was a great deal to work on before their teams faced each other during the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup 2022 – Pool B decider match.
The two put set pieces at the top of their priority list in preparation for the match.
“The whole team will be ready to step up, correcting our set pieces, improve our strike rate, playing in the right zones, and building consistency in phase play by being able to string more than five phases,“ Mwanja said, in a statement published by Kenya Rugby.
His counterpart Lubambula, mid-last week said to Kawowo Sports, “We are going into next week there’s a game against Kenya and I think those are some of the things we are going to work around. Tighten the line of defence and then also strengthen our set pieces. Of course not forgetting our scrum dominance, we will capitalise on that. The lineout is what we are going to focus on to polish.”
Uganda Lady Rugby Cranes and Kenya Lionesses will play for the pool’s top spot on Wednesday evening at the Muteesa II Stadium in Wankulukuku.
In addition to the set pieces, I expect both Uganda and Kenya to have a desirable outcome of keeping the scoreboard ticking. Zambia exposed their leaky defences, especially in the midfield, but they were both able to wring the win out of the match off the boot.
Charlotte Mudoola kicked twenty-one points for Uganda while Grace Adhiambo and Anne Goretti contributed sixteen for Kenya.
These designated kickers’ skills and decision-making will also be instrumental for their teams to play in territories away from their red zones and to explore spaces behind the line of defence.
Must-win affair for Uganda
Although both Uganda Lady Rugby Cranes and Kenya Lionesses beat Zambia, Kenya, having earned a bonus point by scoring four tries in their match, lead the table with five points.
Thus, for Uganda to leapfrog Kenya into top spot, they must beat their East African neighbours by all means necessary.
Two changes have been made in Uganda’s starting XV with former captain Winnie Atyang in the second row.
Captain Peruz Muyuka is sidelined due to an injury sustained against Zambia in one of five changes made to Kenya’s starting XV.
This epic clash between two of the world’s greatest rivals will kick off on Wednesday at 4 p.m. EAT. It will be broadcast live on Rugby Afrique.
