Guinness promise 7s rugby new beginning
Guinness' Estella Muzito hands over a dummy cheque worth Shs 200m to Rugby Sevens Cranes team manager Michael Wandera. Photo by Ismail Kezaala
KAMPALA. Sevens rugby in Uganda has over the years felt half served at the expense of 15s, the longer version of the game, but winning last year`s Africa Cup has opened doors over the last 11 months.
The rewards have come with two HSBC World Rugby Series invites for the Dubai and Cape Town legs and a shot at attaining core status of the world`s most prestigious sevens showpiece in Hong Kong earlier in April. It's also hard to rule out that being Africa champions played no part in winning hosting rights of the Rugby Africa Sevens Championships in October, giving Uganda the chance to defend their title at home.
The list of returns has now grown longer after Guinness, a product of Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL), promising to embark on a three year journey with Rugby Sevens Cranes.
"It feels like a homecoming, we have dealt with rugby before under Bell Lager. We thought it was the best time to return on order to take sevens rugby a step further," said UBL`s Estella Muzito during a press conference at Kyadondo Rugby Club yesterday.
According to Muzito, the partnership is worth Ush 200m but only half of it in cash as the balance will come in form of additional support.
The deal goes as far as supporting local sevens initiatives including the National Sevens Series that start on Saturday at Kyadondo before heading to Gulu, Jinja, Makerere and Legends RFC in respective weeks.
"We are delighted to have Guinness back supporting rugby,. The upcoming series will be a thriller for both players and fans as we prepare for the Rugby Africa Sevens Championships, "said a delighted Uganda Rugby Union (URU) boss Andrew Owor.
Defending the Rugby Africa Sevens Championships would reward Uganda handsomely, securing a busy 2018 with places in Rugby Sevens World Cup in San Francisco, USA, and the Gold Coast Commonwealth games in Australia. A familiar path of playing in the Cape Town and Dubai HSBC legs as an invite side would follow before heading to Hong Kong for the qualifiers.
With a rich history of blurred partnerships in Ugandan sport, one is left to look on whether sevens rugby in Uganda has found new hope after lurking in the shadows of the 15s for long.
