In every aspect of the game, the Lion Cubs showed why they are heads and shoulders above Ivory Coast.
Julien Caminati, the Algerian fullback, found his kicking boots in the second half of the game after missing 3 penalties in the first half, and this was to devastating effect.
Amadou Sekou Toure pulled back 6 points off two first-half penalties and those were the only points on board for the Ivorians.
The Algerian forwards dominated their Ivorian counterparts on the line outs, and when it came to the scrums, the Ivorians had no response. The heavy and strong Lion Cubs forced multiple penalties off the set pieces, with a penalty try resulting from a line out maul, leaving the Ivorians on 7 men in an already struggling pack, early on in the second half.
This brought the score to 15-06 to the Algerians, and the game became wide open after this. To add salt to the wound, Caminati found his bearings and started slotting penalties and conversions for fun.
French Top 14 winger Nadir Begdoud finally arrived to the party in the second half as well with lightning runs and strong carries at the wing, earning himself 2 tries for his efforts. This earned the Aviron Bayonnais player the man of the match accolade.
This result has set up a West African derby between Ivory Coast and Senegal in the first match of Game Day 2 of the Rugby Africa Cup, while Algeria battle Namibia in the first semifinal of the day.
