Uganda began its 2026 Safari 7s campaign at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi today with wins for both the U18 Girls, and U18 Boys.

Opening the competition, the defending champions (U18 Boys) and 2025 bronze medallists (U18 Girls) each played three matches and won all of them. The double success comes as the Uganda U18 Boys prepare for their historic first appearance at the Dakar Youth Olympic Games early next month.

Safari 7s Women’s Competition

Playing in a round robin format, the Lady Cranes started their campaign strongly with a commanding 50-5 win over Tuks Women (Current winners of the Mauritius 7s). The fast paced match saw the Lady Cranes break through the Tuks Women’s defence several times. Lady Cranes took control early, leading 26-0 at half-time.

Lydia Namabiro scored a hat-trick, while Tiko Latifah marked her first appearance for the team with a try assisted by fellow debutant Bushira Namutebi.

Try scorers

• Grace Nabaggala – 2

• Lydia Namabiro – 3

• Susan Adong – 1

• Tiko Latifah – 1

• Racheal Mufuwa – 1

Conversions

• Mastula Namboozo – 3

• Tina Akello – 2

Safari 7s Men’s Competition

Uganda Select, placed in pool A, opened their campaign against Scotland. The match kicked off at 17:34 EAT, with Scotland scoring two early tries and 1 conversion, Uganda responded with a try from Aaron Tukei converted by Malcom Okello, ending the first half 12-07 behind.

Uganda Select returned for the second half with a clear change in structure. Scotland added another try to lead 17-07, before Darren Aine intercepted the ball and scored for Uganda. Yasin Waiswa converted to bring the final score to 17-14 in Scotland’s favour.

Try scorers

• Aaron Tukei – 1

• Darren Aine – 1

Conversions

• Malcolm Okello – 1

• Yasin Waiswa – 1 

Day 1 Results

Match Day 2

Uganda Select will play against SportPesa Fast Forwards at 12:12 pm EAT in their second round match, and against Kenya Shujaa at 5:13 pm EAT in Round 3.

Lady Cranes will take on Kenya Cubs at 9:45 am EAT and Junior Lionesses at 2:24 pm EAT.