The Rugby Cranes 7s have lost all their group games, which officially puts Uganda out of the Safari 7s title race.
The Cranes started their weekend with a painful Independence Day loss of 17-14 to tournament debutants Scotland. Aaron Tukei and Darren Aine’s tries were not enough as time ran out on the men in black. That loss defined the rest of the weekend for Uganda as they had the uphill task of taking on Kenya Shujaa and Sport Pesa Fast Forwards the following day.
Against the Fast Forwards, the Cranes showed great improvement and zeal but were outplayed by the side from South Africa. Captain Ivan Bulima gave Uganda their only try of the first half as they went into the break trailing 10-05. In the second half, debutant Alphonse Openy announced his arrival with a try, in addition to Malcom Okello’s try, but the Fast Forwards came out on top, 24-17.
With one last opportunity to sneak into the quarterfinal, the Cranes had to beat the home side Shujaa in a fully packed Nyayo National Stadium. The Ugandans drew first blood when Aaron Tukei scored a beautiful try, holding off Olympian Nygel Amaitsa and beating winger Victor Mola in a footrace to score.
Unfortunately for the Ugandans, that would be their last score in the game as Shujaa proved to be a class apart. That marked 3 losses in as many games, ruling Uganda out of the knockout phase.
Uganda will now face the Gel Squad 7s in the semifinal of the Challenge Cup to try and salvage something from the 2026 Safari 7s.