What a year it has been for Ugandan rugby! This year has had the most rugby played in a long time. 2023 was bound to be an excellent year for the strides Ugandan rugby hoped to take, but we have to admit, some of it caught us off-guard.
According to this writer, here goes: Homes away from home. Regional victories. Defining losses on and off the field. Retirements and reconsiderations. Ahoy Captain!!
- Bruno Akampa, Hippos Fans, Ronald Wutimber
The Holy Trinity!!! All three are forces to reckon with in the Uganda rugby circles.
Bruno Akampa is a super black Pirates fan, masquerading as the original mpele dancer while also speaking English on the cameras of the Fats Cats production crew. Who exactly is this man? Well, just let Bruno be!! And then you will enjoy rugby with him. While the rest of the Ugandan rugby folk look forward to Saturday as rugby day, Bruno sees it as a chance to rehearse his empere while bellowing for Stanbic Black Pirates.
We all remember that month-long barrage of banter between Uganda and Kenya rugby stans as the year wound down? Well, Uganda was playing it Coco Finger style – one soldier, one army!! Literally!!! The Hippos fans’ account admin was doing the Lord’s work. Everyone was left in awe. Win or lose, those gracious people will be on Captain Peace Lekuru’s internet having a good time.
Ronald Wutimber – another year of rugby and another year of his hand being caught in the cookie jar. We all remember that KOBs – Heathens game at Kyadondo, right? What a time!! The law book as we know it was rewritten that day. Players from both sides were left flabbergasted on that day. The law book was turned inside out, consultations were made at the RA & WR level, and nothing of its kind had ever been seen before. Wutimber, what a man!!! We go again in 2024. Not so?
- The Ugandan Fans Traveled For Their Rugby
2023 has been like no other for rugby fans in Uganda. The URU drew up a calendar that would optimally quench their thirst locally. When the international window came, the fans decided they needed an overtime of rugby action and followed the Cranes and the Lady Cranes across the continent.
The pinnacle of this was the fans’ entourage that made it down the Zambezi for the Africa 7s in Harare. When all looked glum and blue in Coach Tolbert’s camp, the stands took it upon themselves to lift the boys, and by the tournament’s end, Uganda were bronze medalists. Rugby fans braved the soup-less nature of Kenya to witness Safari 7s. They made flight plans for Tunisia to watch Joseph Aredo cut open Tunisia and the Lady Cranes for their Sevens.
Uganda rugby fans are the real MVPs this year!!!
- The Kampani’s Eagles
The idea to follow the Eagle’s prowess, conquest and dominance was apt. Everything that the Kampani’s Eagles have done this year has been borderline excellent. Every year, we are treated with a beautiful underdog story of a team that eclipses the balance of power and registers its name as a ready competitor. 2023 has given us Kampani’s Eagles.
On the field, they earned promotion to the Premiership owing to their Championship playoff win against the Warriors. The Eagles decided to end the year with one of the year’s upsets, ambushing the Pirates’ ship that was docked at Kings Park Arena, running away with the loot and setting the camp ablaze.
Off the field, they have assembled some of the best administrative and commercial minds the game has seen in recent years, and this can be seen through the kind of business they have done recruiting and the commercial sponsorship deals they have locked down on their road to chilling with the big boys.
- Lady Cranes Boss Ladies
The rugby cranes have made us proud all year. But, nothing will eclipse the feat that the lady Cranes achieved in November, defeating hosts and favourites Kenya Lionesses 15-12 to win the Safari 7s.
The girls deserved that. Coach Onen earned that win. Uganda rugby deserved that win. And most of all, the keyboard warriors RFC deserved that win so the nation could continue to gloat over Kenya.
The Lady Cranes came under scrutiny when they lost to the Lionesses and Cubs earlier in the tourney, only for them to rectify those glitches and come out supreme at the end of it all. The only way is up!!
NOTE: Owing to the third-place finish at the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens, Uganda qualified for the repechage alongside Kenya to represent Africa, trying to punch their ticket to the Paris Olympics.
- The Charger Is Working
Ladies and gentlemen, let’s all be standing to salute the Stanbic Black Pirates who have taken over. Despite losing Coach Musinguzi early in the Premiership season, newly drafted coach Marvin Odongo (Premiership winner with Pirates in 2018) knew exactly what he was doing, and he steadied the ship, alongside skipper Ivan Magomu, to victory.
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, announced that the highly anticipated iPhone 15 was coming with a massive change – a new charger. As it turned out, the charger was not so new. Android users have been using it since time immemorial. Hence, let Pirates Cook. Despite a few scares on their way to a National Sevens title, the Pirates discovered that their charger worked just fine and claimed the National 7s crown.
The success of the Bweyogerere-based side can be seen on National team call-ups, with Pirates dominating both the Sevens and Fifteens national teams. Special mention goes to Moses Zziwa and Sydney Gongodyo, who have had a stellar year and earned international caps.
2023 was the gift that kept giving – so much so that we witnessed Alex “Musava” Mubiru briefly pause his retirement to suit up for the rugby Cranes.
