Uganda pulls out of junior rugby qualifiers

Aug 25, 2008

UGANDA has pulled out of 2009 International Rugby Board (IRB) Junior World Trophy qualifiers currently going on in Tunisia. The Ugandans who had spent a month in preparation for the tournament quit the event after failure to get money to make the trip.

By Douglas Mazune

UGANDA has pulled out of 2009 International Rugby Board (IRB) Junior World Trophy qualifiers currently going on in Tunisia. The Ugandans who had spent a month in preparation for the tournament quit the event after failure to secure money to make the trip.

“By Friday IRB hadn’t remitted money to us. There was no way we would travel to Tunisia. We are going to communicate to IRB, we need to know what’s going to happen,” Uganda Rugby Union secretary Paul Nyangabyaki told The New Vision yesterday.

The rugby world governing body, IRB, provides air-tickets while the host nation caters for internal travel, accommodation and meals of participating teams.

Madagascar, which was drawn in Pool A with Uganda, also did not make the trip due to lack of funds.

Morocco and Namibia were the other teams in Pool A. Pool B had Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Kenya and Ivory Coast.

The qualifier, which doubles as the U-19 Confederation of Africa Rugby Cup, will determine the continent’s other representative at IRB Junior World Trophy, to join South Africa.

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