The Uganda Rugby Cranes have defeated Germany 17:14 in the opening match of the World Rugby HSCBC 7s Challenger in Montevideo, Uruguay.

The match was played on Saturday, March 8, 2024, at around 10:20 p.m.

The Cranes had a bad start to the first half of the match, where Germany led them 14:00. The team needed a flawless second half to come back against Germany and win their first match.

In the second half, the Cranes had three tries to successfully seal Uganda’s comeback against Germany. Nobert Okeny, Adrian Kasito, and Pius Ogena touched down as Denis Etwau converted the first try, while Philip Wokorach missed the two.

Uganda has begun their campaign in Montevideo on a positive note, unlike in the first round in Dubai, where they lost the opening match.

Rugby Cranes is pooled against host Uruguay, now perennial rivals Germany, and Papua and New Guinea in pool C.

The first round of the championship took place in Dubai in January 2024, where the Rugby Cranes finished ninth with 8 points and Kenya Shujaa emerged as the winner of the men’s category with 22 points.

The Montevideo tournament is the second series out of the three to be played before the top four teams qualify for the final tournament in Madrid.