Uganda Lady Cranes secured their place in the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup top division for another season after a convincing 46-12 victory over Madagascar in the third-place playoff at RFUEA Grounds.
The result condemned Madagascar to relegation from the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup performance division after finishing bottom of the standings.
With both sides fighting to avoid the drop, Madagascar made the brighter start. Rojoniaina Rafanomezantsoa crossed for the opening try, which was converted to give Madagascar an early 7-0 lead.
Uganda responded strongly and after dominating possession for large spells, Angella Nanyonjo powered over from a scrum in the 23rd minute to level the scores at 7-7.
The Lady Cranes continued to pile on the pressure and grabbed their second try in the 29th minute to move 14-7 ahead. Mastula Nambozo then finished off a well-worked move, stretching Uganda’s advantage to 21-7.
Uganda struck again in the 37th minute, extending their lead to 28-7 before the halftime break. A Madagascar penalty inside their own 22 then allowed Uganda’s fly-half to slot over a penalty for a 31-7 advantage.
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Madagascar’s handling errors proved costly throughout the match, particularly inside Uganda’s 22, where several promising attacks broke down.
Uganda were reduced to 14 players in the 46th minute when Gertrude Gatesa was shown a yellow card. Despite enjoying a numerical advantage and spending long periods camped inside Uganda’s five-metre area, Madagascar were unable to break through the Lady Cranes’ resolute defence.
Nambozo then produced a clever kick through the defensive line before gathering to score, extending Uganda’s lead to 36-7.
Uganda received a second yellow card in the 62nd minute for dangerous play, and Madagascar finally capitalised when Valisoa Razanakiniana burst through the defence to score, reducing the deficit to 36-12.
The Lady Cranes quickly restored control through a Bushira Nabutemi penalty, making it 39-12, before adding a late converted try to complete an emphatic 46-12 victory and secure their place in the competition for next season.
