In a monumental milestone for Ugandan rugby, the Lady Rugby Cranes were crowned the champions of the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens. Delivering a masterclass in resilience and tactical discipline at the RFUEA Grounds, Uganda clinched their maiden continental title in dominant fashion with a 33–0 shutout victory over Tunisia in the final.

The triumph not only etches the team’s name into the history books as Africa’s queens of sevens rugby, but it also secured them a highly coveted qualification for the World Rugby HSBC SVNS pathway (SVNS 3), signaling a bright new era on the global stage.

A Path Forged Through Fire

Uganda’s journey to the summit was built on an impenetrable defense and relentless forward momentum. Throughout the tournament, the Lady Cranes suffocated their opponents, impressively conceding tries in only two matches the entire weekend. On the opening day, the Lady Cranes did not concede a point whilst putting a combined 140 points past their opponents in the 3 games played.

The defining moment of their championship run arguably came in a heart-stopping semifinal clash against arch-rivals and hosts Kenya. With the final possession, Uganda was trailing by 2 points and needed to score in order to win the game.

Grace Nabaggala broke through the Lionesses defense and was on her to the try line. However, the defense was able to catch up with her and take her down. She used her craftiness to release the ball, get off the ground and stay with the possession. That was enough to buy her teammates sometime in order to arrive.

Fortunately for Uganda, the Kenyans formed a maul but one of their players was offside and the referees penalized her. In a snap, Peace Lekuru had scratched and off she was to the try line. She scored the winner, breaking the home hearts and advancing to finale.

A Final to Remember

Having survived the crucible of the semi-finals, the Ugandans left nothing to chance in the title match against Tunisia. Powered by a formidable forward pack that continually won the physical battle at the breakdown, the Lady Cranes played with supreme confidence. Winger Lydia Namabiro delivered a performance for the ages, putting on a scintillating display of pace and finishing to cross for a sensational hat-trick.

Racheal Mufuwa and Gertrude Kateesa were the others scorers as Uganda won the game in dominant fashion, 33-0. This sparked wild celebrations among the players, coaching staff, and travelling Ugandan supporters.

A New Horizon for Ugandan Rugby

For years, the Lady Cranes have been falling short. They finished as second runners up for 3 consecutive years. The teams that have always hurt them have been South Africa and Kenya. This time round, Uganda was able to go past those two teams and this is a testament of their journey and work behind the scenes.

As the team savors this historic triumph, attention will quickly turn to the international stage. With their ticket punched for the global series pathway, the Lady Rugby Cranes have proven they can conquer Africa and the world is next.