Morocco hammer Namibia in CAR Final

Morocco, recently suffering a disastrous earthquake, created one of their own in beating the visiting Namibians 27-7 in Casablanca in the Final of the Confederation of African Rugby's Top 9 competition on Saturday. This is the first victory for the Lions of the Atlas over the Welwitchias in this desert derby.

At half-time Morocco led 17-7.

The Top 9 is divided into two sections. It was a rickety competition with unfulfilled matches but the Final was certainly a clash between the best two teams. In the Final north met south and for the first time Morocco won a title, making them the second strongest team in Africa after South Africa.

There was a festive air at the COC Ground for the match, with many local dignitaries and some 3,000 spectators along to watch.

The Lions scored first and were never headed. After eight minutes No.8 Mikael Mohammed Mokhtar, who plays for Périgueux, scored and flyhalf Thomas Garcia converted.  But twenty minutes later the Namibians got an equalising try when No.8 Domingo Kamonga scored and flyhalf Jurie van Tonder converted.

From then on the Moroccan pack, as expected, dominated possession and kept the ball from the faster Namibian backs. Scrumhalf Hicham Ezzir and flank Abdellatif Boutaty scored tries while Garcia kicked two conversions and two penalty goals for a total of 12 points in the match.

Scorers:

For Morocco:
Tries: Mokhtar, Ezzir, Boutaty
Cons: Garcia 3
Pens: Garcia 2

For Namibia:
Try: Kamonga
Con: Van Tonder