She Cranes seek favorable history as they face England

The Uganda national netball team the She Cranes will Saturday take on 2023 Netball World Cup silver medalists England Roses in their first fixture of the Netball Nations Cup in England at the Ovo Arena in Wembley.

The She Cranes last week registered a 2-1 win against the Welsh Feathers in the Netball Test Series that served as a preparation event for the Nations Cup.

 News from London where the team has been training since early this week has it that they are ready and up for the challenge despite the appalling history of the She Cranes losing all fixtures in their past encounters with the English Roses.

The team has been in training since Monday this week when they arrived in London from Wales and despite the unfavorable weather conditions, coach Fred Mugerwa says his girls will endure.

“The weather here is very cold and it is freezing unlike in Wales where it was windy. We are in training and I believe by the time we face England, the girls will be used to the weather conditions. It will not be an easy task but we are ready for the challenge,” he said.

Looking at the previous encounters, the first being the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia the Roses triumphed over the She Cranes with a 56-35 score  that saw the former progress to the semifinals as well as complete group B fixtures where they were seeded with Uganda, Malawi , Northern Ireland and Trinidad and Tobago unbeaten.

Among the current She Cranes players who faced the England Roses in 2018 include now captain and goal attacker Irene Eyaru and wing defender Sandra Nambirige.

A year later, the England Roses kept their cool to get off a winning start at the 2019 Netball World Cup when they beat Uganda 64-32 at their home in Liverpool. Uganda finished seventh while England were third behind New Zealand and Australia who were first and second respectively.

Before the World Cup, the She Cranes had engaged in a three-game test series against England which they lost 3-0.

In the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, a 56-35 win against Uganda helped England secure a semifinal spot finishing fourth overall while Uganda managed a fifth place.

England and Uganda finished second and fifth at the 2023 Netball World Cup, their best ever finish in the world tournament.

After playing against England today, the She Cranes will tomorrow face New Zealand before playing against Australia for the first time on January 27 at the First Direct Arena in Leeds.

All of Uganda’s opponents at the Nations Cup are above the She Cranes in world rankings hence a win against any of them will automatically play a role in bettering Uganda’s ranking in the world.

Nations Cup

Saturday fixture

Uganda vs. England - 8.15pm – Ovo Arena, Wembley 

Sunday January 21

Uganda vs. New Zealand –Ovo Arena, Wembley

Saturday January 27

Uganda vs. Australia -6pm – First Direct Arena -Leeds

Previous encounters

Uganda vs. England

2018 Commonwealth Games

Uganda 35 -56 England

2019 World Cup

Uganda 32 -64 England

2022 Commonwealth Games

Uganda 35 – 56 England