After conquering the continent in the just concluded Africa Cup Sevens held in Nairobi, the Rugby Cranes 7s stars returned home Monday afternoon and promised to achieve more even beyond the continent.
Head coach Tolbert Onyango, team captain Eric Kasiita and the sophisticated Philip Wokorach revealed to Kawowo Sports that the feat reached by the predominantly young side should be just a step towards bigger achievements for Sevens Rugby in the country.
“This is evidence of the potential we have in sevens,” Onyango, who selected six new faces for the team, told Kawowo Sports upon the team’s return from the Kenyan capital Monday afternoon. “It was not as easy as it may seem but the players’ determination made it look easy,” Onyango added.
Team captain Kasiita, who is one of the senior players on the team, put the achievement on belief and determination.
“It was the belief and determination that brought this title,” Kasiita said when handed the microphone at the team’s welcome luncheon at Kyadondo Rugby Grounds.
The team emerged champions of the 2-day Africa Rugby 7s tournament and will hence take part in the HSBC series in Dubai and Cape Town come December this year before venturing into the Hong Kong Sevens April 2017.
While the upcoming events present Uganda the opportunity to rub shoulders with the world’s best sevens sides, Onyango believes the success has come too early for the side.
“We didn’t expect to get here so soon and we have to be very prepared for those events,” he told this website.
Uganda, who were ranked 7th going into the tournament, defeated the top three starting with Zimbabwe in the group stages, hosts Kenya in the semifinal and Namibia in the final.
The Rugby Cranes 15s side earlier managed to maintain their Tier 1A status.