George Nyambua, the Kenya Simba captain and coach Jerome Paarwater were both relieved after their charges survived a late rally in the second half to narrowly beat hosts Uganda 32-24 in an Rugby Africa Cup match at the Nelson Mandela Stadium, Namboole, Kampala on Tuesday, July 8, 2025.

The result saw Uganda drop to the playoff where they face returnees Morocco while Kenya Simba have booked a date with last year’s champions Zimbabwe in the cup semi-final. After the match, Nyambua recalled how difficult it was to play Uganda before their own fans. “We knew they would come hard at us but prepared to match their energy,” he stated. 

The plan was to force and live off Uganda’s mistakes because of the pressure of playing at home, a ploy which worked for Kenya. The captain immediately said they had to focus on the next match against Zimbabwe who easily beat Morocco 43-8 in the first match. “Zimbabwe are the defending champions and we have a lot of work to do but we will come with a plan,” Nyambua assured.

Relieved Man

Paarwater was a relieved man. “To be honest, I am relieved,” he said in an interview with Rugby Africa. The coach admitted there was a lot of pressure on the players and the technical bench in this derby which was made difficult by Uganda playing before their own fans. “Our focus is on the next match,” he stated.

The match was tense from the beginning and Kenya Simba soaked pressure by their opponents who relentlessly attacked, spread the ball wide and tested Kenya’s physical presence. Griffin Chao broke the deadlock with a try and Timothy Omela missed the conversion to settle Kenya Simba’s nerves. 

Barry Young extended the lead with a second try and Omela slotted. Uganda rallied back before the end of this half and Aaron Oforwoth dotted down a converted try for a narrow 12-7 lead in Kenya’s favor.

Young Drop Goal

On resumption, Young stroked over a drop goal to extend the lead 15-7 but Philip Wokorach narrowed the gap with a penalty for Uganda who trailed 10-15. At this point, the game was balanced before Thomas Okeyo crossed the chalk and Jone Kubu converted to stretch the lead 22-10. Chao completed his brace and Kubu converted for a seemingly comfortable 29-10 margin. 

Uganda came back strongly when Kenya Simba eased their foot on the gas pedal with their talisman Wokorach scoring a try under the posts. He converted to cut Kenya’s lead to 29-17. Another converted try by Uganda reduced the deficit to 29-24 before Young kicked over his second drop goal for the win.

Earlier, Zimbabwe opened their title defense with a 43-8 win over Morocco who are making their return to the top tier competition after an absence of seven years. Ian Prior kicked over 23 points and earned the Man of The Match Award. Try scorers for Zimbabwe were Tapiwa Mafura, Edward Sigauke, Trevor Gurwe and Dylan Utete while Hassan Haimiche scored the consolation try for Morocco. 

Started Slowly

Hilton Mudariki, the Zimbabwe Sables captain, acknowledged they started slowly before finding their stride in the second half. “We have a lot of hard work ahead in the semi-finals,” he admitted. His coach Pieter Banade added they played against a very passionate Morocco team who were very good in the set pieces. “We stuck to our plan and are lucky to have a player like Prior who is able to control the proceedings,” the coach stated.

In the other matches, tournament favorites Namibia warmed up for their tie against Algeria with a 55-17 win over Senegal. Algeria beat Ivory Coast 41-6. Nadir Megdoud scored two tries for Algeria with Gilene Queheille, Aymeric Tronc, and Mohammed Abdel Hamid Makri added one try each.

The winner of the tournament shall qualify for the expanded 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia while the second-placed team will probably face South Korea in a play-off for the remaining slot. Hong Kong China has already qualified for the Rugby World Cup from the Asia region.

Results: Match day 1, Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Zimbabwe 43 Morocco 8, Algeria 41 Ivory Coast 6, Namibia 55 Senegal 17, Kenya 32 Uganda 24.

Fixtures: Match day 2, Sunday, July 13, 2025

Ivory Coast v Senegal (10 am), Morocco v Uganda (12 pm), Algeria v Namibia (2 pm), Zimbabwe v Kenya (4 pm)

Kenya squad: Ephraim Oduor, Eugene Sifuna, Wilhite Mususi, George Nyambua (captain), Andycole Omolo, Thomas Okeyo, Patrick Sabatia, Bethuel Anami, Samuel Asati, Barry Young, Griffin Chao, Walter Okoth, Bryceson Adaka, Timothy Omela, Jone Kubu.

Replacements: Teddy Akala, Edward Mwaura, Vincent Mwikhali, Hibrahim Ayoo, David Bunduki, Obat Kuke, Brian Tanga, John Okoth.

Officials: Jerome Paarwater (head coach), Qondani Katywa (assistant coach).