The soldiers of Cosfa and the Dakars of Manjakaray qualified without problem for the last four of the championship of Madagascar rugby union senior men.
With a packed Makis stadium in Andohatapenaka, long queues to buy the entry ticket, the rugby atmosphere at the temple of rugby in Andohatapenaka was at its peak. It was with this cocktail that the soldiers of Cosfa and the rugby players of Ft Manjakaray outclassed their opponents of the day, to qualify for the semi-finals of the Madagascar rugby union championship, also called XXL Energy Top 20, which was played at the Makis stadium in Andohatapenaka yesterday. The soldiers opened hostilities at 9 am by rubbing against the rugby players of the Tropical Savonnerie or STM. They won with a score of 44 to 23. A more balanced match during the first twenty minutes, despite the opening of the scoring in the third minute by a try from Tojonirina Justin Razafimamonjy (5 to 0). Four minutes later, Jean Claude Félix Rakotozafy scored with a penalty kick to make it 5-3. After twenty minutes, Cosfa’s Mohamed Said scored the military’s second try with Nofitiana Rakotonirina’s successful conversion for lead 15-6. The score at the break was 30-9 for the military. In the second half, STM scored first with a penalty kick from Jean Claude Félix Rakotozafy to make it 30-12. This was the moment chosen by the military to increase the pace and physical commitment. From the 56th to the 65th minute, Cosfa scored two converted tries to lead 44-15. The final score was 44-23 for Cosfa.
Two red cards
After the match, Rija Randrianarison, the coach of Cosfa, explains: “My players succeeded in the main thing, that of looking for the ticket for the last four. We played without underestimating the opposing team to go all the way. In the other match also expected by the public and between FT de Manjakaray and US d’Ankadifotsy, a match which was to start at 11 a.m., but was delayed by 30 minutes, with a 7-a-side rugby match in between, the Manjakaray rugby players won with a score of 52 to 8 in front of the Ankadifotsy players, who were too messy in all aspects of the game. FT Manjakaray opened the scoring with a try from Babaina whose transformation was successful. After thirty-six minutes of play, FTM led 18-0 and the score at the break was 18-3. In the second half, Ankadifotsy rugby players managed to score a try to finish with the final score of 52 to 8. In the 74th and 75th minutes, two players from the Union Sportive d’Ankadifotsy received two red cards, one after two successive yellow cards and the other, because of a misplay under the referee’s eyes. Lahatra Ramamonjisoa, captain of FT Manjakaray, commented: “We came to win. The mission is fulfilled and we will try to go to the final to win the title of champion of Madagascar. »