Lady Cranes XVs edge close to Africa Cup
Grace Auma was among the tries. PHOTO/COURTESY OF RUGBY AFRICA
What you need to know:
The Lady Cranes delivered a commanding second-half performance to dismantle hosts Ivory Coast 52-0 in their second match of the Rugby Africa Women’s Division I Championship at the Augustine Denise Stadium on Tuesday night.
Uganda’s national women’s rugby 15s team are soaring and nothing seems capable of grounding them in their quest to return to the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup.
The Lady Cranes delivered a commanding second-half performance to dismantle hosts Ivory Coast 52-0 in their second match of the Rugby Africa Women’s Division I Championship at the Augustine Denise Stadium on Tuesday night.
The result, which was their second consecutive win in the tournament, leaves Uganda on the brink of qualification for the 2025 Rugby Africa Women’s Cup with a decisive clash against Zimbabwe set for Saturday.
Uganda started well against Tunisia on match day one but struggled to settle early in a scrappy opening against Ivory Coast that was marred by handling errors in the opening exchanges.
Nevertheless, Grace Auma, Bushira Namutebi and Peace Lekuru touched down to give the team a decent bite at the break.
Head coach Charles Onen admitted the opening stages were difficult but praised his players’ ability to regroup and dominate the contest.
“We knew the first 20 minutes would be rough and had to settle in as quickly as possible,” Onen told Daily Monitor from Ivory Coast.
“It was a slow start with lots of errors but once we settled in the 25th minute and opened the scoring, we built good momentum in the second half and finished strongly,” he added.
The team returned with pace and matched Ivory Coast’s physicality as star winger Lekuru continued her sparkling form in the tournament to complete her hat trick.
Auma added a brace of tries of her own as Comfort Angayika, Sarah Nakafero and Grace Nabagala crossed the whitewash to send Uganda top of the table with a decent point’s advantage.
In the earlier fixture, Tunisia held on to beat Zimbabwe 27-24 to bounce back from the opening day loss. Uganda will now clash with Zimbabwe, who sit second thanks to their superior points’ difference over Tunisia, on Saturday in a potential decider.
The Cranes need at least a draw to finish top and seal a place for the 2025 Rugby Africa Women’s Cup to be held in May. Uganda last played at the continental elite championship in 2022.
Rugby Africa Women’s Division I Championship
Results
Uganda 27-10 Tunisia
Ivory Coast 0-52 Uganda
Saturday
Uganda vs. Zimbabwe
