The team went into the match after suffering a 64-0 humiliating defeat to Morocco in the first encounter. Speaking to SportMonitor, assistant coach, Tshoganetso Katse, said they are excited about the win and the players performed according to plan. However, there were a few errors in the first half which led to missing chances to finish off Cameroon. “We missed a chance to score a try in the first half due to handling errors, knock-on and during half time we advised them to go out there, keep cool heads and do their job. We told them to carry the ball to the forwards, to suck them inside, work on the try line and that is why we were scoring on the wings,” he said. Katse said the last time they won a game in the Africa Cup-Repechage tournament was in 2015 in Uganda. He said the win is an indication that they are starting to build but competing with countries such as Morocco will be difficult because they are professionals. “It will take a lot of investment to reach that level. We tried our best for a win, and things went according to plan,” he said.
The team captain, Ketshidile Matenanga, said they pressed Cameroon from the first whistle but they failed to convert chances. He said they had four breaks in the first 15 minutes but did not score. “The match against Morocco was difficult; we could not match up to them. Those players played top flight rugby and their conditioning is top class,” Matenanga said. The team manager, Lynn Warbaton, said the win against Cameroon was a morale booster and gave the players confidence. Meanwhile, Gaborone Hogs coach, Shaun Lees, said in the first match against Morocco, there was lack of cohesion by The Vultures players. “We were getting nailed in the scrums because the Moroccan pack was much heavier than ours. In defence, we were missing tackles and not closing the space so they were running at us hard and gaining momentum. Poor decision making by The Vultures players and no clear game plan,” he said.
Lees said a youthful line-up was put in the match against Cameroon, and it paid off. “The players ran with purpose and dominated territorial. Yes, there were many unforced errors but the players were hungry for a win and it was great to see. There was a lot of cohesion and the boys got good results,” Lees said. He said there is a lot of work that needs to be done on the scrums if they are to face a heavy pack. Lees said the line-outs need some work including polishing up on attack and defensive shape.
Botswana 36 Cameroon 10
