Ugandan Rugby Sevens team wins the Africa Rugby Sevens

The Uganda Men’s Rugby Sevens team defeated all opposition to win the Africa Rugby Sevens Championship to earn qualification to the 2022 Rugby World Cup to be held in Cape Town and the 2022 Commonwealth Games to be held in Birmingham.  It will be their fourth appearance at the Commonwealth Games since Melbourne 2006 and the 2nd appearance in a row at the Sevens Rugby World Cup.

The main difference is that we shall represent Africa as the 2nd best team on the continent.

South Africa had automatically qualified as the Hosts. Uganda burst out the blocks with a 71-00 thrashing of Burundi on the morning of 23rd April. We later beat Tunisia and Zambia and Burkina Faso to qualify for the Semifinals on Day 2 where we beat neighbours Kenya 27-14 to qualify for the final against a struggling Zimbabwe Cheetahs whom we dismissed 26-00 in a rush.

The atmosphere in the stands was electrifying with jubilant rugby fans at the Kyadondo Rugby Grounds. The team made history yet again and it was sobering seeing the Minister of State for Sports Hon. Hamson Obua addressed the lads and promised more help to the team as it prepares for the international tournaments in Cape Town and Birmingham.

Rugby Seven’s World Cup 

If the Rugby World Cup retains the format used in the 2018 seven’s World Cup then we should brace ourselves yet again. The first game was a knockout and this time as Africa’s best qualifying team we shall get a bit lower ranked team as compared to say Zimbabwe and Kenya who qualified as 2nd and 3rd respectively for the Rugby Seven’s World Cup.

It is scary that the lads are going to get much better. 3 or 4 players missed the team due to some niggling injuries and they are in the struggle to get super fit and showcase their potential at the bigger stage. The Uganda Rugby Union (URU) under President Godwin Kayangwe and team did a splendid job too. We have yet to confirm that we are able hosts even after the slump brought around due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

There was no mistaking the bold colours of Nile Special who is indeed Uganda Rugby’s number 1 fan.

Their support and generosity were clear and all the visiting 13 teams and officials left Uganda in ‘high’ spirits and got a glimpse of our potential hosts for future tournaments. The fans were outstanding and never before have we witnessed such passion in various fully packed stands. The fans braved the Day 2 downpour and it was clear that something big was bound to happen.

The biggest game was always to be against the Kenya Shujaas. We have previously beaten Kenyan sides but they always claimed to present their 2nd teams. This time around there was no excuse. We clearly beat them and they were humble in defeat as we were gracious in victory. The final game was a formality. We clearly showed that we were heads and shoulders above the competition. This team will surely go far with more support from the National Council of Sports, Uganda Olympics Committee and Nile Special.