Why Uganda Sevens have withdrawn from 2025 Women's Challenger Series

Uganda Lady Cranes will not compete in the 2025 HSBC Challenger Series in Krakow, Poland, Mozzart Sport can confirm.

The Charles Onen-coached side last featured in the Challenger Series on Sunday, March 9, in South Africa, where they finished seventh in the leg and eighth in the overall standings.

However, the team has been withdrawn from the upcoming leg in Krakow due to visa issues, as confirmed in an official statement from the Executive Committee of the Uganda Rugby Union (URU).

In a statement dated Monday, March 17, 2025, URU expressed deep regret over the decision to pull the Lady Cranes out of the competition, citing an inability to secure visas for the team on time despite early efforts.

"This decision has not been taken lightly, but the current circumstances leave us no option. Despite our best efforts, we feel we cannot secure visas for the team on time, even though we started this process ahead of time and flagged this challenge to World Rugby," read the statement in part.

The governing body acknowledged the immense effort the team had put into their campaign and described the withdrawal as a disappointing end to their journey.

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While the Lady Cranes Sevens program is temporarily halted, URU has turned its focus to the Lady Cranes XVs.

The 15-a-side team will participate in the Rugby Africa Women Division 1 Tournament in Côte d'Ivoire, a competition that was only announced by Rugby Africa on February 25, 2025.

"The ExCom has decided to assemble this team to compete in Côte d'Ivoire and push for promotion to the Rugby Africa Women’s Performance Division. This tournament is a great opportunity for our Lady Cranes XVs team to ascend to the top division for women’s rugby in Africa," URU stated.

Meanwhile, it was heartbreak for the Uganda Rugby Cranes Sevens as they bowed out of the HSBC Challenger Series after a disappointing 11th-place finish.

Their campaign began with a rocky start, suffering losses to Tonga (21-19) and Canada (38-7) in the group stage, which dented their hopes of advancing.

After finishing seventh in the first leg, the Cranes fought for ninth place but fell 33-17 to Madagascar in the semifinals before ending their tournament with a 36-12 victory over Brazil.

However, their efforts were not enough, as they finished ninth overall with 10 points after the aggregate of both legs, missing out on a qualification slot for Krakow.