As the African Games opened their doors to sevens rugby for the first time in history, it was Uganda’s Rugby Cranes Sevens and Lady Cranes Sevens who emerged triumphant, bagging double gold at the University of Ghana rugby stadium.
With seven men’s and five women’s teams competing, both of Uganda’s senior sevens sides remained unbeaten in the round-robin competition, etching their names in the history books of African rugby.
Despite the absence of continental giants South Africa and with neighbors Kenya fielding a largely youthful side for the tournament, the Ugandan sides put up dominant performances in the fixtures, having utilized the Uruguay Challenger Series as preparation for the 13th Africa Games.
Rugby Cranes Sevens forward Alex Aturinda is upbeat following the victory, stating, “We went into this tournament having completed the Challenger series in Uruguay in the first week of March. Coming into the All-Africa games, having fallen short of our targets in Uruguay, we had to come back and win gold.”
“This is my first gold medal for the country in terms of rugby sevens, and it was a proud moment for me on foreign land. I’m excited to have returned home with the gold medal,” Aturinda noted.
The Tolbert Onyango-coached side finished the tournament in style with a 21-14 win over the Kenya Shujaa, which Aturinda says was a tough result to pick up, “Kenya is always a stubborn team against us, and having fallen short against them in the Challenger series, it was a 7-5 defeat which did not sit well with us. We had to pick up the win. Even when the tournament was already in our favor, we had to work on some errors and keep building throughout.”
The Lady Cranes Sevens also produced impressive performances against Nigeria, Madagascar, Tunisia, and Ghana on their way to claiming gold. Captain Peace Lekuru says it is a significant achievement for the side, stating, “It’s the first time the Africa Games had women’s rugby, and for us to have won it is a big achievement. It’s a dream come true for us as the Lady Cranes Sevens, and we knew what we wanted from the beginning. That’s why we stayed focused and came back with the gold.”
In the men’s category, Zimbabwe won silver, while Kenya took home bronze. Madagascar won the women’s silver, while Tunisia bagged bronze.
