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Clubs forge ahead with new tourney as Uganda Cup stalls

Heathens hooker Cyrus Wathum (C) in flight mode after bumping off Kobs' Mike Otto (L) and Karim Arinaitwe. PHOTO/EDDIE CHICCO
What you need to know:
The tournament dubbed “Masters Invitational Trophy” has been founded by nine clubs but the inaugural edition that kicked off on Saturday at Kyadondo has six teams.
As the fate of the 2024 Nile Special Rugby Uganda Cup hangs in balance, a new exciting preseason tournament has fittingly occupied the vacuum.
The tournament dubbed “Masters Invitational Trophy” has been founded by nine clubs but the inaugural edition that kicked off on Saturday at Kyadondo has six teams.
Heathens and Jinja Hippos were the winners over the weekend with the former beating Buffaloes 18-15 as Hippos scrapped a 20-16 result to win their first-ever fifteens away match against Kobs. Both games were played at Legends as the organisers chose to play an weekend’s match at one venue to provide commercial value for the hosting member and gain more revenues.
With the results, Heathens took over control in Group A that also has Impis while Hippos lead Group B which includes Walukuba.
Match day two and three will be played on December 7 and 14 respectively at Makerere and Dam Waters in Jinja before the knockouts set for a week later at Kyadondo.
Getting ahead together
The top teams from the two groups will face off in the final, the first runners-up will play for third-place while the bottom teams will play for fifth place.
“The goal is to supplement the efforts of the Uganda Rugby Union in promoting the XVs code of the game and improve performance of the players at Regional and International competitions,” the founders communicated in a statement to the members.
The tournament that has been formed under the theme “Getting Ahead Together” leaves the Uganda Rugby Union with egg on the face after the body postponed the Uganda Cup due to financial constraints. The tournament had been scheduled to kick off on Saturday 23.
Cash-strapped
In their statement released a week ago, the Union claimed that the “decision was made to prioritize player welfare and ensure adequate rest for players after an intense and demanding season”.
It further added that “it will allow URU to realize its annual activity calendar to ensure the smooth running of all events.”
However, it has emerged that the Union is cash-strapped and yet to receive money from Nile Special who are the official sponsors of all top-tier tournaments.
“The clubs refused to play before receiving money from the Union and its sponsors and everyone knows that,” a club official told this paper anonymously.
A letter from the said clubs requesting the union to consider and incorporate their new tournament had initially been turned down. Sources claim the Union was keen not to allow rivals of their official sponsors funding what could be viewed as a rival product.
According to a response from the Union’s Chief Technical Officer Ramsey Olinga that this paper saw, URU claimed that the proposal request “came too late to allow us include it in the URU activity schedule”.
Olinga added that the Union had “noticed that various rugby pitches around the country are not in particularly good playing shape due to the rains and continued use” and that there was “need to preserve and maintain the pitches for the coming season”.
Planed January kickoff
According to the tentative calendar, the 2025 Nile Special Rugby championship is planned to kick off on January 11 along with the reserve championship and women’s league.
That leaves the fate of this season’s expanded Uganda Cup hanging in balance as it had initially been scheduled to run up to January 18.
“It’s impossible to play it [Uganda Cup] within this timeline so it’s highly likely that the cup will be scrapped off or played in a different shorter knockout formula,” an official at URU revealed the options the body is weighing.
The Uganda Cup had no prize money but teams expected an increase in funding given that the competition has been expanded and therefore, more costs.
According to the new consortium, the inaugural winner will earn Shs2.5m while the respective runners-up will pocket Shs1.5m and Shs500, 000 respectively from the preseason competition.
Rugby Masters Invitational trophy
• Six participating teams ranked into two pools
• Teams play a single round-robin at the pool stage
• Teams ranked & proceed to the knock-out stage
• All teams ranked at the end of the competition
Prize Money
Winners – Shs2.5m
Silver – Shs1.5m
Bronze – Shs500,000
Group A – Heathens, Buffaloes & Impis (wild card)
Group B – Kobs, Hippos & Walukuba
Week One results
Heathens 18-15 Buffaloes
Kobs 16-20 Hippos