Uganda Men have participated in all editions of the World Rugby 7s Challenger Series since the tournament’s inception in 2020. They qualified for the three editions, alongside Zimbabwe each year, as the two teams from the Rugby Africa Men’s 7s regional competition.
This is their report card from the five rounds showing their individual match results and noteworthy highlights during each of the rounds.
2020 (Two Rounds)
The two rounds of the inaugural edition were held in Vina del Mar, Chile and Montevideo, Uruguay in February 2020. Uganda began their campaign successfully with victories over Italy and Paraguay but they lost all matches after that.
| Pool C Matches | ||||
| 1 | W | 24-14 | vs Italy | |
| 2 | W | 14-17 | vs Paraguay | |
| 3 | L | 12-19 | vs Germany | |
| Cup QuarterFinal | L | 07-10 | vs Hong Kong | |
| 5th Place SemiFinal | L | 14-19 | vs Tonga | |
During the secound round, Uganda registered their’s biggest scoring margin when they thrashed Paraguay, 56-07, in Montevideo.
| Pool B Matches | ||||
| 1 | L | 00-10 | vs Jamaica | |
| 2 | W | 19-12 | vs Brazil | |
| 3 | L | 12-38 | vs Hong Kong | |
| Placement QuarterFinal | W | 56-07 | vs Paraguay | |
| 9th Place SemiFinal | W | 22-19 | vs Papua New Guinea | |
| 9th Place Final | W | 26-24 | vs Zimbabwe | |
Uganda ranked seventh in Vina del Mar and ninth in Montevideo to finish seventh overall in the series that was won by Japan.
The series was not played in 2021 due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. It returned the following year.
2022 (One Round)
After a high-flying campaign at the Rugby Africa Men’s 7s in Kampala and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Uganda crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Santiago, Chile for the single round of the 7s Challenger as African champion.
| Pool C Matches | ||||
| 1 | W | 26-12 | vs Uruguay | |
| 2 | L | 14-17 | vs Germany | |
| 3 | W | 26-19 | vs Lithuania | |
| Cup QuarterFinal | L | 14-17 | vs Germany | |
| 5th Place SemiFinal | W | 26-19 | vs Tonga | |
| 5th Place Final | L | 07-12 | vs Hong Kong | |
However, they painfully finished the twelve-team tournament in sixth place after a third straight quarterfinal defeat.
2023 (Two Rounds)
Both rounds of the 7s Challenger in 2023 were held in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
The first round was Uganda’s best-ever performance as they won the fifth-place final. Their only loss that weekend was against Germany in the Cup Quarterfinal.
| Pool C Matches | ||||
| 1 | W | 33-05 | vs Brazil | |
| 2 | W | 36-10 | vs Jamaica | |
| 3 | W | 40-00 | vs South Korea | |
| Cup QuarterFinal | L | 14-26 | vs Germany | |
| 5th Place SemiFinal | W | 12-07 | vs Chile | |
| 5th Place Final | W | 19-15 | vs Italy | |
The weekend that followed, Uganda dropped one position into sixth place. But they were just about able to maintain their overall ranking from the previous year.
| Pool B Matches | ||||
| 1 | W | 31-07 | vs Brazil | |
| 2 | W | 26-07 | vs South Korea | |
| 3 | L | 00-12 | vs Germany | |
| Cup QuarterFinal | L | 07-12 | vs Belgium | |
| 5th Place SemiFinal | W | 24-21 | vs Papua New Guinea | |
| 5th Place Final | L | 07-17 | vs Hong Kong | |
Rather surprisingly given the high expectations and hopes, Uganda has not gone past the Cup Quarterfinals during any round of the Sevens Challenger.
2024’s new-look new-format edition presents an exciting and yet challenging opportunity for Uganda to break that glass ceiling. What will their report look like?
