Lady Rugby Cranes turn focus Olympic qualifiers

By Johnson Were

The Lady Rugby Cranes assistant coach Helen Buteme has said that the Elgon Cup defeat by Kenya will not distract them from achieving their primary objective of for the 2016 Olympics.

Buteme told New Vision that it was painful losing the Elgon Cup but that is no longer an issue and their target is the Rugby Africa 7s tournament in South Africa due in September.

"Like we were the first team sport to play in the World Cup in Uganda, We also want to be the first to play in the Olympics," Buteme stated.

"We have given the girls two weeks to rest and then start our preparations for 7s. Our primary target is returning to the top two on the African continent," Buteme added.

The team from England University that is conducting a training camp in Jinja together with the former England women team captain, Catherine Spensor at Legends on Saturday pose for a group photo. PHOTO/ JOHNSON WERE

Uganda is currently ranked 10th, a far cry from second position after South Africa two years ago.

The women's team played World Cup qualifier play-off finals on a regular basis and also held the Africa 7s third position for three consecutive years.

Buteme explained that Uganda Women Rugby Association (UWRA) strategic plans are going as scheduled and players aged between 17-21years from Gulu, Kitgum, Pakwach, Entebbe, Mbale, Jinja and Kampala are in a week training camp in Jinja.

"We started Monday and training is conducted by Sussex County head coach, Gavin Richardson and former England women's team captain, Catherine Spencer," Buteme, who doubles as UWRA secretary, added.

She noted that the camp will help them build players' capacity and identify more players ahead of the Rugby Africa 7s which will be the 2016 Olympic qualifier.

The winner will qualify to the Olympics while the runners-up, third and fourth will go for play-offs with other teams from Asia, Europe, South America, North America and Oceania.

The training camp is sponsored by the Tag Rugby Trust.