How come Thunderbirds aren’t run-away leaders already in the Women’s 7s rugby title chase?

No women’s rugby team has been as dominant as the Thunderbirds in the ongoing Nile Special rugby 7s championship.

Yet, even with that fact not contestable, the Thunderbirds have left a window of hope for the chasing pack, something that remains a mystery.

Following the conclusion of the Kyabazinga 7s last Sunday, September 7 at the Bugembe stadium, Thunderbirds remain top of the women’s division with 96 points. That is six ahead of an unpredictable, but dangerous rival, the Avengers.

The Kyabazinga 7s was the fifth of seven rounds that have got to be played before the champion will be known. But had the Thunderbirds been ruthless enough, observers believe that title should have been in the bag by now.

Consider this: After five rounds, as mentioned earlier, the Thunderbirds have been in four finals. Yet, they have only managed one win in all. Essentially, the Thunderbirds have lost a possible nine points, which is why they lead the defending champions, Avengers by just six and not 15.

To maintain that lead, all the Thunderbirds would have needed to do in the remaining two rounds of 7s action, is simply qualify for the semi-finals, period. They would not need to exert much going forward, which would have enabled coach Kigongo Ssebalamu the leeway to rotate his squad more; give some players a break.

Going into the final two rounds in Kabale and Kyadondo later this month would be a procession to win the ultimate prize comfortably. Otherwise, comfortable is not the way the Thunderbirds feel now even though they have been the most impressive by and large.

But where it has mattered most, they have capitulated. For example, in the final against the Nile Rapids in Jinja, they lost 5-0. Just one try was the difference. While it was shocking, the result followed a pattern, as the Thunderbirds show signs of being perennial chokers.

But also unforced errors have been common in pressure moments. The Thunderbirds have also intermittently played like a team with a lot to lose. That sense of panic has not manifested in other teams, though.

When Ssebalamu, the Thunderbirds tactician was asked about their struggles in finals, he said: “We have self-destructed. This is largely down to the fact that as a team, we are moving off script. Every time, we have a game plan that we follow. But when we get on the field, oftentimes, we have played individual rugby, which our opponents have exploited to great effect.”

In light of that, Ssebalamu rued the great opportunities they fluffed in the final against the Nile Rapids last weekend. He noted that everything they did in that game was self-defeating.

“We failed to get the ball out to our wingers, and before we knew it, the pressure to salvage something caught up with us,” Ssebalamu said.

That said, one of the Thunderbirds’ former players noted on condition of anonymity that the play-makers of the team, particularly Lorna Amoli and Samiya Ayikoru are not executing their roles consistently enough. She noted that while the two are arguably the team’s best players, they have tended to stick to the ball for too long instead of passing it early to teammates.

This has enabled the opponents to close down the running lanes easily, hence giving them a good counter- attacking platform. However, although the Thunderbirds appear to be conspiring against themselves, none of their opponents has been anymore consistent.

The Nile Rapids, who are the only team that has won two of the five circuits thus far, lie in sixth place on 67 points. It appears the title is out of their reach because the real Nile Rapids started competing in the third round, which was the Entebbe 7s.

And then, the Avengers, who are the defending champions are masters of self-destruction. They have been casual in many games; not playing with the same zest as they did last year when Peace Lekuru was still in the team.

In addition, the Black Pearls, who are fifth on the log with 71 points, and were runners-up last year, have only recently had their best players like Lydia Namabiro and Rachael Mufuwa return to the 7s squad.

They still have a lot of catch-up to do, but are not as ruthless this time like was the case when they had Emilly Lekuru, too. For some reason, Ssebalamu feels that the inconsistency in most women’s teams is coming down to fatigue.

“Generally, we need to improve the strength and conditioning of these girls to cope with the rigours of back-to-back sevens tournaments. In many ways, unless our teams perform in top form domestically, we cannot expect them to be a match for international opposition,” Ssebalamu said.

Against the aforementioned, maybe the Thunderbirds, who last won the 7s title in 2018/19, a run that dated back from 2007 even in the 15s, do not have to worry much about the chasing pack. They look the one eyed woman among the blind!