Thunderbirds new winners after defeating Black Pearls: Gulu 7s

The Thunderbirds became the third different winners in 4 circuits after defeating the Black Pearls in the finals of the Gulu 7s.

Avitus Ngabirano

September 9, 2024

2–3 minutes

avengers, black pearls, black pirates, Kitgum Queens, nile rapids, She Wolves, thunderbirds

The Thunderbirds became the third different winner of the 4 circuits so far after defeating the Black Pearls 26:07 in the finals of the Gulu 7s.

The Thunderbirds who had yet to reach a finals made their intentions clear after defeating the Avengers 19:17 on day one and they were very focused on their goal, to win in Gulu.

On day 2 they thumped Lira Matrix 49:00 in their final pool game and coming out on top of pool A.

In the semifinals, they got the job done with a 12:00 win against the Nile Rapids.

The Nile Rapids showed off great defense in the first half but a few errors cost them the game

Janat Nandudu opened the scoring after running for about 50 meters to score in the corner while Christine Akwede extended their lead after a handling error by the Rapids.

On the other side, the Avengers and Blacks who had both been in the finals for 3 consecutive times met in the semifinals and it was as tough as expected.

After the first half ending 0-0, it was getting harder for both teams to penetrate each others defenses but the Avengers managed to get an opening in the first.

Fazirah Namukwaya and Juliet Nandawula shrugged off the Black Pearls defense, managed to offload to each other and finally Nandawula got the opener.

A few moments later, the Black Pearls were on the attack and pushed the Avengers to the corner due to the multiple penalties they were conceding.

Rebecca Kabajungu finally got the equalizer after a quick tap and go which caught the Avengers defense napping.

The game ended in a stalemate and went into overtime which also ended in a draw.

After the 10 minutes of the overtime, the Black Pearls advanced to the finals on points scored. The Pearls had scored 77 points while the Avengers had only 61.

In the final, Emily Lekuru opened the scoring for the Black Pearls but she was given a yellow card shortly to which the Thunderbirds capitalized.

Patricia Anek made a big carry and offloaded to Acen Tamara who scored beaten the poles.

A few moments later, Sarah Nakafeero made a good offload to Janat Nandudu who gave Thunderbirds the lead.

Zziwa Nnanyojo Angella scored their third try while Janat Nandudu putting the icing on the cake with her second try of the game after a beautiful offload by Acen Tamara.