Mauritius wins rugby
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday June 23, 2014 15:07
The islanders’ job was made simple by an easy 34-0 thumping of 34-0 of Swaziland in a one sided match played at the national stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The feat sees Mauritius now being promoted to Group 1B next year.
Meanwhile, Botswana failed to qualify for the promotion due to the goal difference. Mauritius had more tries during the tournament as compared to Botswana, despite having the same points.
Botswana finished second,Zambia third, while Nigeria and Swaziland finished fourth and last in that order.
Botswana’s Vultures folded the tournament by humiliating Zambia 66-14. The Vultures showed their intention to win from the first half with their attacks.
The hosts were a changed side when compared to their dismal performance against guests Impala Rustenburg of South Africa which won all of their games.
Zambia did not score in the second half and they were totally outplayed.
Captain for the Zambian side, Musonda Mcmanus, told Monitor Sport after the game that they came into the tournament with the aim to win it.
He said unfortunately their plan did not work out.
He pointed out that they have realised that they should work hard on their forwards and backline.
“Despite our loss in our previous game against Mauritius, I feel that the match officials were biased.
I call upon CAR to engage fair officials in the next tournaments,” he said.
The Vultures captain, Eddie Ernest said they expected a tough encounter against Zambia because both of them wanted to win the game. The two sides came into the game after one loss and two wins each.
“Impala was a tough side and we learnt lessons that we used to beat Zambia.
They taught that we do not have to get stuck on the rugs, especially when playing against an attacking side like Impala,” said Ernest.
The Vultures coach, Ivor Greaves, hailed the tournament as a success. He said it was unfortunate that Botswana failed to qualify due to the system that was used.
He said his players stuck to the game plan against Zambia and they played at their level best.
He stated that the performance was a sign that rugby is improving in the country.
“We will be playing Leopards and Impala from South Africa soon and that will give our players the exposure they need,” said Greaves.
In another match, Impala had no mercy for Nigeria as they walloped them 86-10.