Rugby 7s shaping up for Hong Kong qualifier

Getting ready:Rugby Sevens Cranes go through drills at Kyadondo. Courtesy photo

KAMPALA. The Rugby Seven Cranes have knocked on the HSBC Sevens Series door on two occasions but it’s yet to open. 2017 and 2018 saw them fall short in the Hong Kong qualifiers, stopping at the last eight in 2017 and in the last 16 last year.

The first weekend of April takes them to Hong Kong for the third year running with hopes of qualifying to get core status. In a past interview with Daily Monitor, poster boy Phillip Wokorach indicated that qualification would change the game in the country.

“Everything would change if we got core status. Our lives and rugby in the country would improve,” he said.
Core status would see the lads play in legs all over the world in different countries namely South Africa, UAE, New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, England and France.

Apart from the exposure, the package come with lucrative financial incentives that would help the game grow.
Coach Tolbert Onyango has championed calls for the shorter version to be separated from the 15s but with the limited player base, only core status acquisition can see the separation implemented.

Two training sessions per day from Monday to Friday with a gym session inclusive is what the boys are experiencing till April. Last year`s trip to Hong Kong found Ninette Kruyt as Strength and conditioning coach, a key part of the game, but in Geoffrey Kimani on a second stint here, the side has an experienced gem that has worked at the top level with Kenya Sevens.

He worked with the Kenya side that won the 2016 Singapore Sevens, their maiden victory in the World Rugby Sevens Series besides reaching the Canada and Hong Kong Sevens finals during the 2017/2018 Sevens Series. In the past, Onyango has singled out how strength and conditioning is a key part of the game.

“I am looking for strong and conditioned players, those are the kind of players that can sustain our mode of play for all three days,’’ he told this paper. With Pius Ogena and Solomon Okia set-up doubtful, Onyango has a pool of players to choose from since he kick started a sevens program to create a long lasting set up.