By 
Uganda’s Rugby Sevens Cranes left Mombasa with four wins from six games at the Driftwood 7s as they turn their attention to the HSBC Division III qualifiers in Kampala in September.
The Cranes showed their quality from the start, beating Kenyatta University’s Blak Blad 27-14. Uganda opened the scoring with five points before Blak Blad hit back with a converted try. Malcolm Okello was key as Uganda regained control to seal the win.
The Cranes then faced KCB Rugby, the reigning Kenya National 7s champions. KCB built a 12-point lead in the first half and held on despite Uganda’s defensive effort.
Rain made the pitch difficult and contributed to several handling errors from the Cranes. Dennis Etwau scored a solo try, but Uganda fell 12-7.
They responded with a hard-fought 17-12 win over Kisumu RFC to reach the quarter-finals, where Kabras RFC ended their title hopes with a 27-5 victory.
Uganda bounced back in the placement games, beating NYS Spades 12-10 in the fifth-place semi-final before closing the tournament with a 19-14 win over Nondescripts.
Okello was again Uganda’s standout player, scoring all 19 points through three tries and two conversions.
The four wins give the Cranes a positive finish in Mombasa, but their attention now shifts to the HSBC Division III qualifiers.
The team returns home to continue preparations for the September qualifiers in Kampala, where they will hope to turn their Mombasa experience into a strong campaign.
