Uganda's Lady Cranes have won the Africa Women's Sevens title for the first time, beating Tunisia 33-0 in the final at the RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi on Sunday, 8 November 2026.

The commanding victory also secured Uganda qualification for World Rugby HSBC SVNS 3, the next tier of the global sevens series, which is scheduled for Dubai in December.

Namabiro hat-trick seals the final

Winger Lydia Namabiro led the way in the final with a hat-trick, opening the scoring before adding two more tries as Uganda pulled clear. Tina Akello converted the opening try, and Gertrude Kateesa crossed for the final try as the Lady Cranes finished the tournament in dominant fashion.

Tunisia, who had reached the final by beating Zimbabwe 22-10 in the semi-finals, struggled to contain Uganda's powerful forward pack and quick attacking play in front of a packed crowd.

Dramatic semi-final win over hosts Kenya

Uganda's route to the title went through the hosts. In a tense semi-final against Kenya, Uganda raced into a 12-0 lead through tries from Grace Nabagala and captain Peace Lekuru, before Kenya fought back with tries from Freshia Oduor and Janet Okello to lead 14-12.

With Kenya in possession as the hooter sounded, the hosts looked set for the final. But Uganda kept the ball alive on the final play and Lekuru crashed over for the winning try, sealing a 19-14 victory. Lekuru was later named Player of the Tournament.

Uganda had earlier knocked out defending champions South Africa 24-17 in the quarter-finals, underlining the scale of their achievement in Nairobi.

Kenya take bronze as Zambia impress

Kenya recovered from their semi-final heartbreak to beat Zimbabwe 27-7 in the bronze medal match, with Stella Wafula scoring twice. Zimbabwe finished fourth, an improvement on their seventh-place finish at the previous tournament, after a surprise 12-5 win over Zambia in the quarter-finals.

Zambia, who beat South Africa twice during the tournament, finished fifth, while Ghana closed their campaign with a 41-0 win over Burkina Faso to take ninth place.

Uganda's dominance had been clear from the opening day. The Lady Cranes beat Burkina Faso 45-0, Mauritius 46-0 and Madagascar 41-0 in the pool stage, before beating South Africa in the quarter-finals and Kenya in the semi-finals.

Uganda conceded tries in only two matches across the whole tournament, a measure of a defence that matched their attacking power as they lifted their first continental crown.