Inexperience hurting Rwanda’s chances in World Cup – Coach

lack of experience betrayed Rwanda’s chances when Africa’s third-ranked team appeared to be crossing the finish line in their match against Finland.The European side won the closely contested match with a 3-2 victory over Rwanda in Pool C of the FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championships 25-21, 18-25, 21-25, 25-16, 17-19 on Saturday.Rwanda committed 40 errors during the match including one bad reception by libero Oreste Muhirwa Gabo to end the match of 2 hours and three minutes, while Finland committed 27 mistakes.It was the second consecutive loss for debutants Rwanda, who also lost the opening match against France 3-0 (25-16, 25-12 and 25-18 on Thursday.Rwanda took the first set 25-21, before Finland reorganised and won the second and third, respectively 18-25, 21-25. The Rwandan youngsters dominated the fourth set 25-16, while in the fifth and decisive set, Rwanda lost 17-19.Antti Ropponen, with 21 points, and Lauri Jilha, with 18, were the offensive leaders for the winners, while Rwanda’s Samuel Niyogisubizo collected a tournament-high 33 points in the losing effort.In the decisive set, Rwanda was leading 14-12 in the tie-breaker but the anxiety clearly affected their composure and let the victory to slip away.Rwanda Captain Jacques Iradukunda said, “You all have seen what happened. We tried our best but one has to win and the other to lose. That’s the way it is.”Head coach Jean Marie Nsengiyumva, said, “The lack of experience hurt us. We lost due to the lack of experience. It is a big lesson for us. I want to congratulate the winners. They played very clever. Now I have to look forward to our next match.”Rwanda will play their final group match against the favourite side in the tournament Russia, who beat France 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, and 25-13).

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Inexperience hurting Rwanda’s chances in World Cup – Coach