Uganda’s Lady Cranes 7s opened their Rugby Africa Women’s 7s campaign with a 45-00 demolition of Burkina Faso.
The Ugandans proved why they are one of the contenders for the tournament gold and qualification to the HSBC Division III straight from kickoff.
Playmaker Tina Akello’s kickoff went deep, pinning Burkina Faso in their own 22-meter zone. Uganda then turned over the ball, followed by Grace Nabaggala’s big carry through the gap, and an offload to Juliet Nandawula to give Uganda the first try of the game. Akello’s conversion extended Uganda’s lead to 7 points.
Akello was once again tasked with the restart, and she sent the ball to the same spot; this time the ball bubbled into touch for a Burkina Faso lineout in their own 22. The West Africans did well to retain possession off the lineout, but great defensive play by the returning Peace Lekuru forced the opposition into losing the ball forward. Uganda turned over the ball, and Unity Namulala was the lucky recipient as she ran over the try line with her teammates urging her to get closer to the posts. Akello once again got the extra two points.
Suzan Adong’s unconverted try gave Uganda a 19-point cushion, but towards the end of the half Uganda’s discipline started to get questionable. Two back-to-back penalties gave Burkina Faso momentum, but they could not capitalise on their possession. After turning over the ball, Nabaggala once again managed to get the offload away to Nandawula for Uganda’s second unconverted try to end the half 24-00.
In the second half, the Ugandans were quite comfortable and composed despite Burkina Faso seeing more of the ball than they did in the first half.
Lydia Namabiro, who had been relatively quiet, scored her first of two tries at the start of the second half, while substitute Mastula Namboozo followed with a try and conversion of her own.
Burkina Faso continued to grow into the game, but the defensive efforts of players like Adong, who kept on chasing dead causes, ensured that the Ugandans would not concede any points in the game.
Uganda’s patience in defence and efficiency in attack paid off when Namabiro’s dummy switch on the left flank left the defence scrambling, giving her space to run into for Uganda’s last try to end the game 45-00.