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Rugby Cranes win first leg of Africa Sevens

Rugby Cranes celebrate their victory in Mauritius. PHOTO/DON MUGABI 

By  Fred Mwambu

What you need to know:

Uganda started timidly with a 22-17 win over Ivory Coast but steadied and rolled over Tunisia 43-0 and Burkina Faso 29-0 to complete their Group B schedule with a perfect record.

Uganda Rugby Cranes enhanced their chances of reclaiming the continental title after emerging winners of the first round of the Africa Men’s Sevens at the Labourdonnais Sports Club in Mauritius on Sunday. 

Uganda started timidly with a 22-17 win over Ivory Coast but steadied and rolled over Tunisia 43-0 and Burkina Faso 29-0 to complete their Group B schedule with a perfect record.

They drew Ivory Coast in the quarterfinal, again, beating them in sudden death. The two had tied 10-up but Philip Wokorach dotted down to decide the encounter and give Uganda the much-needed breather. Denis Etwau and Ofoyrwoth had scored the earlier tries.

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Uganda could not risk it again. They went on to beat last year's finalists South Africa 12-0 in the semifinals to set a date with Madagascar. Aaron Ofoywroth scored two tries as Kasito, Nobert Okeny and Kisiga supplemented to put the game to bed

South Africa, who was a late replacement for Ghana, had beaten Kenya in the quarterfinals. 

Ofoywroth returned with the same form in the final with two tries as Adrian Kasito, Nobert Okeny and Kisiga supplemented to put the game to bed.

By winning the first round, the Cranes accumulated the maximum 20 points while the losing finalists Mauritius raked 18 and South Africa that finished third with 16.

The points garnered from this round will be used to determine the draws for the second round that will take place at the same venue next weekend. 

The team that will accumulate the most number of points will be declared champion. Kenya are the defending champions.

The top two teams will qualify for the 2025 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series. 

Last year's finalists Kenya and South Africa are not in contention for the two slots since they're core teams in the World SVNS series.

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