The Rugby Cranes won the African Sevens Series at home in Kampala, a qualifying tournament for the World Cup in the discipline to be held in South Africa in September.

The Ugandan rugby players first defeated Kenya 22–12. In the final, Mike Wokorc and his teammates defeated Zimbabwe 26–0 to win the continental title.

“We only had three months of intense preparation for this tournament. And I think today we were able to prove that all this hard work paid off and I’m very happy for the boys.”

While the Rugby 7s World Cup will take place in Cape Town next September, the success of the Uganda tournament demonstrates the continent’s ability to host an event of international importance. The Elliptical Planet knows it can count on Africa.

Rugby Africa Vice President Andrew Over is pleased with the two days of rugby practice:

“The level has really gone up. You can see the teams have worked hard. It was nice to see Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe or Zambia at such a high level. This is great promotion for our rugby”.

14 teams participated in the tournament, including emerging nations Burundi, Senegal and Burkina Faso, a promising African plateau that is eventually giving the continent a greater presence on the international circuit.

Ugandan legend William Blick, now a member of the IOC, is pleased that “All these countries are gaining more experience and are able to move forward. So rugby sevens in Africa has progressed and we need to organize more tournaments like this on the continent. We need at least one or two per year A bar series should be organized.”