The curtains have been drawn on the Lady Cranes’ exploits in Dubai, and the team has claimed fourth position out of twelve teams.
Entering the tournament as the only debutantes, the Lady Cranes turned on the style on Day two with huge wins to push them into the last four. Day 3 was tough, with a heavy 45-05 loss to China in the semis before a 36-10 loss to Argentina in the third-place playoff.
The Lady Cranes were, on day two, able to avenge the first-game loss to 2023 Runner-up Belgium by mastering a tough and gritty 17-12 win.
The Lady Cranes can hold their heads high knowing that in Coach Onen Charles and Captain Peace Lekuru, they will be able to figure out the next steps to get them over the hurdle and be ready before they play at Estadio Charrúa in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 8-10 March.
From the start, Coach Onen’s goal was to make it out of the group and into the last eight, and an appearance in the last four is an even sweeter result.
Meanwhil, after a forgettable group stages campaign, the men’s rugby cranes side finished 9th out of 12 teams in Dubai.
Ninth is the lowest Uganda have finished at the Challenger Series – doing the same in 2020 in Montevideo. That year, the Cranes beat Paraguay 56-07 in the 9th placement quarterfinal and beat Papua New Guinea 22-19 in the 9th place Semi before beating Zimbabwe 26-24 in the 9th Place final.
In the 9th place playoff semifinal, the Cranes saw off Mexico 50–00 before seeing off Portugal 27-12. Despite going 12-00 down early in that game.
Courtesy Photos
