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Having started the tournament with three wins in Pool C, Uganda’s journey to the top hit a snag against Germany in the quarters.
The Uganda Rugby Cranes Sevens will be playing for fifth place at the ongoing World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Having lost 26-14 to Germany in Friday’s quarter-final, the focus has now shifted to finishing as highest as possible in the tournament.
And the highest the team can go is fifth place. That journey started Saturday morning with a 12-07 victory over Chile, sending the East African side to the final.
Michael Wokorach touched down in the first half, but Uganda trailed 07-05 going into the half-time break and needed a response in the second half.
A well-contested second half ended with Desire Ayera’s try and Aaron Ofoyrwoth’s conversion handing Uganda the victory to progress to the final.
Uganda will now face the winner between Brazil and Italy in the fifth-place final to conclude three days of action.
Having started the tournament with three wins in Pool C, Uganda’s journey to the top hit a snag against Germany in the quarters.
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15:31 - 21.04.2023
RUGBY Uganda Sevens fall to Germany in World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series quarter-final
And playing with six men for three quarters of the game did not help matters for the three-time African champions.
Adrian Kasito was sent off to make Uganda’s task even more complicated, and Germany used the numerical advantage down the stretch to progress to the semis.
The World Challenger Series provides a pathway to the HSBC World Rugby Series Circuit, and Uganda has been pushing to get in since 2017, when they played in the World Series Qualifier in Hong Kong.
As was the case last year, Germany ended Uganda’s journey controversially.
A contentious third try for the European side deflated the Cranes, who were trying to protect a slim 14-12 lead.
But Tolbert Onyango’s charges must return to the drawing board and try again.
World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series
Fifth-place semi
Result
Chile 07-12 Uganda
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