Rugby 7s draw plan for World Challenger Series
Thomas Kisiga dishes out a hand-off. PHOTO/COURTSEY
What you need to know:
All players are active in the Nile Special Premiership with their respective clubs but as the norm has been over the years, they will sit out of the league once Onyango officially summons the training squad.
The World Challenger Series came with heartbreak for Uganda last year in Chile when Germany came from 14-0 down to beat Uganda 17-14 in the quarterfinal.
At 14-0 with less than three minutes to play many back home thought the job was done only to be shocked.
It was for the fourth time in a row that the Rugby Sevens Cranes were falling short on acquiring HSBC World Sevens Series core status.
The players one by one fell to the turf of Estadio Santa Laura in Santiago, Chile. The cameras also captured a visibly furious Tolbert Onyango after some questionable calls that shattered Uganda’s dream.
The same gentleman, who will be making nine years as the gaffer, is already drawing plans for this year’s edition of the World Challenger Series in Stellenbosch, South Africa in late April.
“We did our medicals the other day and we shall hopefully start training next (this) week,” Onyango told Daily Monitor.
In South Africa, Uganda will have to come out on top of 11 other countries namely Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Jamaica, Korea, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Zimbabwe for that sought after spot.
It is no secret that getting onto the circuit would elevate the game’s status in Uganda with more exposure and incentives for the players.
All players are active in the Nile Special Premiership with their respective clubs but as the norm has been over the years, they will sit out of the league once Onyango officially summons the training squad.
The side has also evolved over time and had a year to remember in 2022 with feisty and imposing performances that started with Gold in the Africa Men’s Sevens, at the Commonwealth Games where they finished 10, at the Rugby World Cup in South Africa where they won the Bowl and at the World Challenger Series where they finished fifth.
Training squad
Michael Wokorach, Aaron Ofoyrwoth, Nobert Okeny, Alex Aturinda, Timothy Kisiga, Mubaraka Wandera, Desire Ayera, Adrian Kasito, Ian Munyani, Karim Arinaitwe, Timothy Mugisha, Dennis Etwau, Yasin Waiswa, Ivan Otai, William Lukwago, Hosaana Opileni, Aaron Tukei, Phillip Wokorach
