Rugby : National team defeats Ivorians and wins Silver Cup

The national rugby team won Saturday's Casablanca Silver Cup, defeating Côte d'Ivoire in the finals (8-3), Le Matin said. At the end of a tight game, the national XV rises to the Gold Cup, hoping to qualify for the World Cup in Japan in 2019.

«The first half was very disputed and neither side was able to take the advantage, although the Ivoirians were clearly superior physically, as evidenced by the many melees won by the front line», reports the daily.

«The second half is less messy and sees the men of Mohamed El Maatouk storming half the opponent's side, trying to quarter the opponents in their last meters», continues the newspaper.

«It was a very difficult match against a tough team from Ivory Coast. In the second half, we put our ego aside and we pressed on their first line, because we saw that there was a shot to play. It paid off, because we passed a test that allowed us to win. Now we are all very happy, but the best is yet to come with the Gold Cup next year», reacted Hocine Arabat, captain of the Moroccan team.