The Uganda Lady Cranes continue on their steady progress trajectory with yet another fourth-place finish in the HSBC World Rugby 7s Challenger Series.
The Lady Cranes put themselves in the knockouts as early as day one in Montevideo with two solid wins, a 15-05 win against Thailand to open their account and a majestic 48-07 win against Mexico.
A quarterfinal win against the stubborn Hong Kong put the Lady Cranes in the last four. Uganda fell behind early in the quarterfinal but would come back and force a 17-all draw at full-time.
In extra time, Uganda got out of jail through a Grace Auma run, which set up the platform for Agnes Nakuya to burst over for the winning score.
China and Belgium, a step too far for the Lady Cranes?
China in the semifinals proved tougher for the ladies, who lost 26-10. Be that as it may, it was a better outing for the Lady Cranes, who lost to the same team 45-05 in Dubai in January.
The losing streak stretched into the third-place playoff, with the lady Cranes going down 24-12 against Belgium. It would be the third meeting between the two teams on this year’s Challenger series.
Belgium beat the Lady Cranes 14-05 in Dubai on day one before Uganda avenged that defeat, to claim a 17-12 win in the quarterfinals a day later. With the win in Montevideo, Belgium now have a 2-1 aggregate on the Cranes.
It should be noted that Belgium were the runners-up in the Challenger series last year and Uganda are series debutantes, playing their first tournament in Dubai two months ago.
“We were in the top four last time and our target for this tournament was to finish around the medals bracket,” said Lady Cranes coach Charles Onen in an interview with Kawowo Sports.
Uganda fell short on that but should hold their heads high, seeing as the girls are only playing their second such tournament and can only get better. The technical team talked about 3-day tournament simulations and these will be vital for the girls going forward.
Courtesy Photos
