Lady Cranes finish third, still in Olympic hunt
Lady Cranes Sevens team is joined by a fan - Edward Kiwanuka - to celebrate their third place finish at the 2023 Africa Women's Rugby Sevens Championship. PHOTO/DENISE NAMALE
What you need to know:
Only the winners, South Africa, who beat Kenya in a tense final 12-7, advance to the Olympic Games.
The national women’s rugby sevens team will have a second chance to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics Games after failing to grab the first.
The Lady Cranes Sevens beat Zambia 29-10 in the third-place playoff at The Africa Women’s Rugby Sevens Championship in Monastir, Tunisia on Sunday.
That result partly healed the pain of losing 27-0 to Kenya in a one-sided semifinal.
Only the winners, South Africa, who beat Kenya in a tense final 12-7, advance to the Olympic Games.
Like Uganda, the losing finalists will have a chance to make Paris through a repechage event next year.
The hard work to try and make the Olympic grade for the captain Peace Lekuru-led team starts in earnest as only the winner of the repechage event will make the Olympics.
In the immediate term, the Lady Cranes Sevens will feel disappointed but this should be a building block for coach Charles Onen’s team.
Playing in Monastir was their first international tournament in 17 months.
“It’s a tough game. My girls are very happy about what they have achieved,” Onen said.
Overall, third is an improvement on last year when this team came fourth in the same tournament in Tunisia.
This team can pick on the heroics of the past when the Lady Cranes 7s qualified for the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai.
