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Uganda secure promotion to 2025 Rugby Africa Women's Cup
Lady Cranes XVs celebrate after the final whistle. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
Uganda now joins South Africa, Kenya, and Madagascar in the premier division of the Rugby Africa Women’s competition. These four nations were also the top finishers at the 12-team Women’s Sevens tournament held in Accra, Ghana, last November.
Uganda defeated Zimbabwe 63–7, sealing qualification for the elite 2025 Rugby Africa Women’s Cup.
The Lady Cranes lived up to their billing as favourites in the Women’s Division 1 tournament in Côte d’Ivoire, finishing with a perfect win record in the round-robin event. They secured comfortable victories over Zimbabwe, Tunisia, and the hosts.
On Saturday, in the final match of the competition, it was the dominance of Uganda’s forwards that laid the platform for the hard-running backs to shine — closing out the tournament with a one-sided display in what had otherwise been an entertaining week of rugby in Côte d’Ivoire’s second-largest city.
Earlier in the day, Côte d’Ivoire ended their tournament on a disappointing note, falling to Tunisia 34–0.
But the day — and indeed the tournament — belonged to Uganda. The Lady Cranes’ success in Côte d’Ivoire restored their status as a rising force in African women’s rugby, across both the 15s and 7s formats.
Uganda now joins South Africa, Kenya, and Madagascar in the premier division of the Rugby Africa Women’s competition. These four nations were also the top finishers at the 12-team Women’s Sevens tournament held in Accra, Ghana, last November.
The 2025 Rugby Africa Women’s Cup Division One Tournament, organized by Rugby Africa (www.rugbyafrique.com), the continental governing body of Rugby across Africa, in partnership with Cote d’Ivoire Rugby Federation, this years tournament featured host nation Côte d’Ivoire, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
