women
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Uganda have fired a huge warning shot to other African rugby nations, smiling in 2026 to win the African Women’s Rugby Championship and qualify as the continent’s representative at the HSBC SVNS 3 tournament, which will be held in Dubai in two weeks’ time.
The Lady Cranes entered the weekend competition at the RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi, Kenya with strong competition, facing a rapidly improving Tunisia, Zimbabwe and Zambia as well South Africa The Women’s ‘A’ side, and strong favorites for the weekend, Kenya Lionesses.
The hosts have also had a run on the green against the Ugandans all year, with the Lionesses impressing across the National 7s Circuit, and they also put the Ugandans to the sword when they won the Safari Sevens last month, winning 22-5.
The Kenyans also recently won a gold medal at the Youth Olympic Rugby Sevens in Dakar earlier this month, adding further momentum to the program with several players from that campaign also included in the side.
However, the Lady Cranes will get revenge on their rivals in the final tournament of the year.
Meeting in the semi-finals, the Lady Cranes burst out of the blocks with tries from Grace Nabugala and Peas Lekuru, before Kenya responded through Frecia Oduor to make it 12-7 at half-time.
The hosts briefly took the lead late in the second half through a try from Jane Okello – however, Lekuru’s second try in the final play of the match stunned the hosts, 19-14.
Uganda then flew past Tunisia 33-0 in the final to win the continental title for the first time and book their tickets to Dubai for SVNS 3, capping off a great weekend in Nairobi that marked a huge step forward for women’s rugby in the country.
Despite the disappointment in the final, the result also marked a huge step forward for Tunisia’s women’s rugby program, marking their best finish at the tournament since 2013.
For Kenya, who defeated Zimbabwe 27-7 in the bronze medal match, it marked a disappointing end to the year as they missed the chance to push their pursuit of the SVNS series and Olympic qualification in Dubai.
However, head coach Simon Odongo has vowed to learn from the result to ensure the side come back stronger in 2027.
“It was a tough defeat, especially considering Uganda scored the winning goal in the last game,” Odongo told The Star.
“It hurt, but those are the margins of sevens rugby. They are very small and we have to be better equipped next time.
“The girls are disappointed, but the future is bright for this team, especially with many young faces coming in and giving established competition to the players. We are back to reclaim our crown very soon.”
It was a similarly disappointing weekend for the South Africa Women’s ‘A’ team, who finished sixth with a 17-12 loss to Zambia and also lost to Uganda 24-17 in the quarter-finals earlier in the day.
Uganda will now turn their attention to the 2026 HSBC SVNS 3 tournament, which will be held from November 28-29, 2026 in Dubai, the same weekend as the first leg of the 2026-27 SVNS Series.
