Victorious against the United States and then Spain, the U18 girls’ Makis team has already secured their qualification for the semi-finals and can still dream of an Olympic medal.
The U18 girls’ Makis have had a remarkable start to the tournament at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, currently underway: two matches, two victories at the Iba-Mar-Diop complex in Dakar. In their first outing, the representatives of the Great Island achieved a prestigious success against the United States with a narrow score of 12-10. In their second match, the Ladies Makis defeated Spain with a score of 19-12.
This start was particularly successful against an American team that quickly showed its ambitions. The Americans opened the scoring after three minutes and thirty seconds of play to lead 5-0. But the Malagasy team did not take long to react. Thanks to a first try under the posts, they reversed the trend and took the lead at halftime, 7-5. Upon resuming, the United States regained control (10-7), before the Ladies Makis found the gap once again. A second try allowed them to take the lead for good, 12-10. A precious victory to launch their journey in the competition.
Against Spain, during their second match, the Malagasy confirmed their good momentum. The Spaniards struck first with a converted try in the second minute (7-0). The Ladies Makis gradually found their game to equalize at 7-7, before scoring a second try just before the break. Madagascar thus went into the lead, 12-7.
The second half was contested. Spain came back to level (12-12) with a little over four minutes remaining. But the Malagasy once again showed character by scoring a third try with two minutes and forty-five seconds left. The final score of 19-12 sealed their second victory and, above all, their qualification for the semi-finals.
The competition format provides that the top two teams from each pool advance to the semi-finals, while the third and fourth teams play classification matches for 5th to 8th place. The winners of the semi-finals will meet in the final for gold, while the losers will play for the bronze medal.
Already assured of continuing their adventure in the final four, the Ladies Makis can now aim higher. After their two convincing performances, the young Malagasy maintain the hope of offering the country its first Olympic medal.
Captured & Published at: 2026-11-03 05:54:02 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/11/jo-de-la-jeunesse-rugby-vii-les-makis.html