Rugby: Ghana fail in World Cup, C’wealth Games bid

Ghana’s rugby men’s team, The Eagles, failed in their attempt to book spots at this year’s rugby World Cup as well as the Commonwealth Games when they failed to advance from the round-robin stage of the 2022 Rugby Africa Men’s Sevens Cup championship at the Kyadondo Rugby Club in Kampala, Uganda at the weekend.

The Eagles, who left the country last week in buoyant mood, made a false start to the competition when they lost 19-10 to Namibia in the qualifying stages to the group phase of the two-day championship.

The Ghana side went into the championship as West Africa Regional Sevens champions after defeating Burkina Faso in the finals held in Kumasi and were expected to make a huge impact at the competition.

They started the game on a flying note when they took a 5-0 lead in the first stanza of the game, but the next seven minutes in the second half proved costly for Coach Dallars Kuzorera Lovemore and his charges, allowing the Namibians to stroll to a 19 to 10 victory.

Namibia’s victory sent shock waves in and around the Kyadondo Rugby Club arena, as most of the spectators rooted for The Eagles to secure passage to the next round.

The defeat meant Ghana was out and had to participate in the Challenge Cup (a competition for teams that could not qualify to the group phase).

The Eagles whitewashed Burundi 47-0 in their first game before defeating Senegal 10-0 to book a semi-finals berth, but unfortunately the competition was cancelled due to a heavy downpour.

Coach Kuzorera Lovemore expressed disappointment at his sides’ performance in the opening game against Namibia, adding that it is a devastating result he is yet to come to terms with.

Host Uganda defeated Zimbabwe 28-0 in the finals to be crowned champions, while Kenya defeated Zambia 19-12 to book a World Cup slot.

BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY