BlitzBok Women 'A' stumble as Uganda rule African Sevens
SPOTLIGHT: The South Africa Women’s Sevens ‘A’ side finished in sixth place at the 2026 Rugby Africa’s Women’s Sevens Cup at the RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi, Kenya after a mixed bag of results that yielded three wins and three defeats.
The South Africans finished the tournament with a 12-17 defeat to Zambia in the fifth-place final on Sunday, while they also started the day poorly by losing 17-24 against Uganda in the quarterfinals.
Their only success on day two came in the fifth-place semifinal, where they outplayed Mauritius by 48-0.
On the opening day in their Pool A fixtures, the South Africans outplayed Rwanda 57-0 and Zimbabwe 26-10, but lost 14-19 to Zambia in their final match of the day, conceding a late try to suffer their first defeat of the day.
Tereské Kabuika-Ilunga scored from the kick-off in their opener against Rwanda, with the rest of the team dotting down with regular intervals for an easy first win.
Against Zimbabwe, good attacking plays dictated the result, but against Zambia in the final game on Saturday, they held a 14-0 lead before allowing their opponents a come-from-behind win.
In the quarterfinals on Sunday, it was a slow start for Cecil Afrika’s team and although they came back well against the Ugandans, they never looked like winners.
The match against Mauritius was much better as they kept the ball well, but their second defeat to Zambia will not go down well for the squad. They held a 12-0 lead and the Zambians had a player red-carded, but the inexperience of the group in closing out matches was clear and they could not seal the result.
Hayley Hardneck was the leading points’ scorer for the South Africans, with 41 from three tries and 13 conversions. Her Boland teammate Kabuika-Ilunga scored six tries, followed by team captain, Vianca Boer, who dotted down five times.
Meanwhile, Uganda defeated Tunisia 33-0 in the Final on Sunday to claim the continental title for the first time and secure qualification for World Rugby HSBC SVNS 3, capping an outstanding tournament run by the Lady Cranes in Nairobi.
Uganda had snatched a last-gasp 19-14 victory over arch-rivals Kenya in a nail-biting semifinal earlier in the day, but they rediscovered their dominant form in the Final, led by a hat-trick from winger Lydia Namabiro.
The Ugandans had overpowered their opponents throughout the tournament, with their powerful forward pack providing a solid platform for their attacking players to finish off opportunities and secure convincing victories.
The final against Tunisia followed a similar pattern, with Racheal Mufuwa and Gertrude Kateesa also crossing the line as Uganda comfortably overcame the North Africans, who struggled to contain the champions in front of a packed crowd at the RFUEA Grounds.
