Ugandan rugby is going through one of its darkest spells in recent memory.
Within just seven days, the Rugby Cranes have suffered two backbreaking defeats, first to eternal rivals Kenya, and then to tournament underdogs Morocco sending shockwaves through the local rugby community.
What started as a hopeful campaign at the Rugby Africa Cup has quickly become a fight for survival.
The 24-10 defeat to Kenya was painful enough, but the loss to newly promoted Morocco has proven costlier on a global scale.
Under World Rugby’s points exchange system, Uganda has surrendered valuable ranking points to Morocco, who now climb two spots to 37th in the world.
Uganda, meanwhile, has suffered a dramatic fall from 41st to 48th marking their worst global position in over a decade.
For a team that once scaled the heights of 31st in 2008 following their historic Rugby Africa Cup victory in Madagascar, this current slide is both alarming and disheartening.
The Cranes now brace for a do-or-die relegation playoff against 64th-ranked Ivory Coast. Another loss could see Uganda plunge further into the rugby wilderness, losing not just points but their elite status in African rugby.
