Rugby: Madagascar routs Nigeria's Stallions

A Nigerian player during the match

A Nigerian player during the match

A Nigerian player during the match

The Malagasy national rugby team, the XV Makis of Madagascar routed the Black Stallions of Nigeria, 63-3 at the Municipal Stadium of Mahamasina on Sunday.

The victory allows Madagascar to enter the list of the 12 best African teams that will compete in the pool phase of Rugby Africa Cup 2020.

The big island will be part of Group A, including Namibia and Zambia.

At one minute of play, Herizo Rasoanaivo said Dadatoa opened the scoring with a penalty, and became the man of the day’s match, with those 15 points.

The Makis of Madagascar impose their game during the first ten minutes taking advantage of the field and especially the presence of 22,000 fans, at the Mahamasina.

In the third minute, Rija Rakotoarimanana scored the first try of the match, transformed again, by Herizo Rasoanaivo.

“We hesitated a bit during the first period because we did not downplay the technical level of the Nigerians. We have been preparing for a year, just for this game. ” said the captain of the Madagascar team Ramaromiantso Tolotra.

However, during the first half, both teams showed a balanced play phase. In the last ten minutes, the visitors even dominated but, they missed three tries. Both sides are aggressive on the pitch, and Black Stallions No. 1 Daniel Christopher received a yellow card in the 12 th minute.

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At the break, the score was 13 to 0.

Nigerian team captain Godwin Dina Otoro Jr said: “We could have done better if the team had been in better shape. We are tired because of delays in our trip. We found that the team of Madagascar also has a good technical level in rugby .

For the second period, the game changed completely. The XV Makis of Madagascar danced on the Black Stallions, scoring three successive tries in 12 minutes. It was only one minute before the final whistle, in the 79th minute, that the Nigerians scored a penalty, thanks to number 10, John Terseer Kura.

After this victory on his lawn, in Mahamasina, the XV Makis of Madagascar will have seven months of preparation for the other matches in June 2020.

According to the African Rugby Federation’s calendar, Madagascar will travel to Zambia on June 12, 2020, and host Namibia on June 28, 2020.

Bronson Weir, Nigerian coach said : “We had a new experience with this team from Madagascar. We learned a lot not only about the game, but also the love of rugby by these thousands of spectators. Sincerely, technically, Madagascar has a lot of potential in rugby and we see together, the speed of the game XV Makis. They put pressure and we had to suffer because our players are also tired. As you know, we had delays in our trip. To conclude, we have learned, we have had new experiences and we will take our revenge at the next competition. ”

Philippe Canitrot, Malagasy trainer said : “I am very happy with this result, and proud of our team. The players applied the instructions and they played with the heart. They have ensured and we see through the game, the determination to win. I am satisfied, but this victory still requires a lot of effort and hard work because we are going to a higher level and with much more experienced teams. I made a positive technical assessment but I also detected the flaws that we will rectify. ”

*Reported by rugbyafrique.com

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