Heathens Rugby Club shines

THE 2011 rugby season was ‘exciting’ in terms of signing sponsorship deals accompanied with optimistic speeches loaded with grand plans which were yet to be reflected on the pitch by closure of the season.

Douglas Mazune and Johnson Were relay the good, bad and ugly of the season that the rugby fraternity cannot wait to exorcise.

The good

Coach Anthony Kinene was never certain the women’s team would compete in the Confederation of Africa Rugby (CAR) tournament in Botswana. They secured funding at the last minute but lived up to their billing.

They made light work of Kenya, Zimbabwe and Madagascar to make the final, earning a slot on in 2013 World Cup Qualifier. The Ugandans lost to South Africa in the CAR final but they had already achieved their goal of making the World Cup qualifier due in the September, 2012 in Morocco. A week later they reached the final of the Safari 7s.

On the local scene, Heathens showed they were still a force to reckon with when they won both the League and sevens circuit.

Their rivals Kobs, spurred by players like Joel Anguyo burst into life again, retaining the Uganda Cup and putting up a noteworthy show in the league.

The Pirates on the other hand renewed interest in the league and Uganda Cup by signing Kobs’ Joel Anguyo, Heathens’ Scott Oluoch and Kenyan internationals Sammy Wairu and Kelvin Omiyo. The revamped squad fell short of delivering silverware but will surely give Kobs and Heathens a run for their money next season.

The schools’ league produced exciting revelations in fly-half Ivan Magomu, Alfred Bijik, Philip Wokorach and Jasper Ochen who could help Uganda’s 2015 World Cup bid if well nurtured.

The prolific Kimono brothers Justin and James featuring for Kobs were some of the handful of good things to write about in the 2011 season.

The bad

The Rugby Cranes had a fruitless season on the pitch when they failed to be promoted in tier 1A after hosting the CAR 1B tier at Kyadondo rugby club.

Rugby Cranes fell to Zimbabwe by 25-15 before a capacity home crowd but went on to whip Madagascar 50-30 but the victory could not salvage the Cranes from staying in tier 1B.

Zimbabwe got promoted having beaten both Uganda and Madagascar.

Elsewhere, for the fifth year, the Cranes failed to lift the Elgon Cup as the Nairobi jinx haunted them again.

Under the new coaching panel that includes former internationals Fred Mudoola, Peter Magona and Herbert Wafula guided by Yayiro Kasasa, the trio has been tasked to revamp the team performance and lead the country to the 2015 World Cup.

Later on, Namibia and Morocco failed to honour the tier A fixtures in Kenya in November, a scenario that Uganda elevated to tier 1A through the backdoor.

The ugly

The rugby fraternity was rocked by the controversial sale of Kampala Rugby Club and as expected the annual assembly was more focused on the issue than development of the sport.

In the heat of controversy former vice chairman Stephen ‘Foxy’ Ojambo came close to standing against his chairman William Blick but pulled out of the race in the elective assembly.

Rugby continues to be played at Kampala Rugby Club but ownership has shifted to a private individual at whose mercy the game is.