BY ENOCK MUCHINJO IN KAMPALA
Ugandans know how to put up quite a show, and on Saturday at the Mandela National Stadium they delivered a spectacle on the first day of the Rugby Africa Cup here.
They had rehearsed tremendously, a beautiful turf on the ‘B’ Arena of the newly refurbished stadium, drones over the venue, a gorgeously dressed lady singing the national anthems for the biggest clash of the day: Uganda v Zimbabwe.
It was good on the eye, and Uganda must be commended for the effort and hopefully long may it last for the rest of the tournament.
The big and vociferous crowd at the Mandela Stadium was however stunned as Zimbabwe held on gallantly to win the last quarter-final of the first day 22-20. You could hear a pin drop!
Phew! It seemed liked the Sables would run riot, after having galloped to a 22-0 lead in the first half through three spectacular tries from wingers Eddie Sigauke and Taku Muswingini as well as veteran centre Kudzi Mashawi.
But the Cranes are fighters, and rallied on by the strong home crowd, they came back in the second half to score two tries, and from the kicking tee.
Zimbabwe survived the siege, so the Sables will now meet old nemesis Namibia in one of the two semi-finals here on Wednesday.
Kenya and Algeria will clash in the other blockbuster semi-final.
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