Rugby Cranes miss HSBC Challenger Series cut

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Uganda’s Rugby Cranes have been knocked out of the HSBC Challenger Series after they finished 11th in the 12-team second leg in Cape Town, South Africa.

The men had accumulated only 10 points after finishing in seventh last week while the women finished eighth and seventh this week. In order to qualify for the penultimate leg in Poland, both the men and women’s sides were required to finish in the top eight, which the men missed.

The women barely qualified with 14 points in eighth place while the men finished in 11th place, hence the reason, they ended up in ninth place altogether, missing the cut.

Poor pool phase

It was a torrid start to proceedings for the Rugby Cranes in group B with a 19-21 loss to Tonga, which set the tone for a challenging competition.

By the time they faced championship contenders Canada, the damage had already been done, resulting in a 38-7 defeat.

Uganda’s two losses sent them into the ninth-place semi-final against Madagascar, where they suffered their third loss of the series.

However, in the eleventh-place playoff, they bounced back with a 36-12 win over Brazil to avoid finishing last in the 12-team competition.

The women could have done better but were caught napping a time or two. They defeated Belgium for the second week running but were exposed against Kenya in the 10-5 loss.

The Lady Cranes were hampered by two yellow cards in that match, with Samia Ayikoru being sent off in the first minute and Mainuna Nassozi following with a second yellow.

Shortly after, Nassozi was shown a red card, giving Kenya the opportunity to score a last-minute try.

The Ladies have one month to prepare accordingly for the third leg in Krakow, Poland. The top four teams after that leg will advance to the HSBC SVNS World Series playoff in Los Angeles, California.

World Rugby Challenger Series

Men (Pool B)

Uganda 19 Tonga 21

Canada 38 Uganda 7

Ninth place semi final

Madagascar 33 Uganda 19

Eleventh place playoff

Uganda 36 Brazil 12

Women (Pool A)

Uganda 22 Belgium 7

Kenya 10 Uganda 5

Fifth place semifinal

Uganda 7 Thailand 14

Seventh Place playoff

Uganda 39 Poland 0