With the highly-anticipated Rugby Africa Cup set to kick off tomorrow, July 18 with the Captain’s run, the Rugby Cranes had an open training session yesterday in preparation for the tournament.
During the training session that took place at King’s Park in Bweyogerere, the national team players called upon Ugandans to rally behind and provide the much-needed support as they represent the country on the continental stage.
“Fans are very important to the game. We wouldn’t be playing if we didn’t have people watching us play,” said Moses Zziwa, a back row flanker for the Rugby Cranes and also a player for the Stanbic Black Pirates.
“I urge them all to come and support us. We want to hear them shout for Uganda and motivate us while on that pitch to get the job done,” he added.
His teammate Julius Opio, a lock who plays for the Jinja Hippos Rugby Club, echoed similar sentiments.
“First of all, I would like to appreciate our fans who have been there for us, and I would like to encourage them to come and support our country,” he said.
“Fans from Jinja and all over Uganda, please come out and give us the vibe so that we can do this for the country,” he added.
Both players expressed their honour and excitement at being selected to represent Uganda in the Rugby Africa Cup, which will also serve as the first stage of the 2027 men’s Rugby World Cup qualifiers for the African region.
“It’s an honour to get to represent my country, it’s something I can’t take lightly. I feel good that I was given an opportunity to do so, and I’m hyped and ready to represent Uganda,” said Zziwa.
Opio added, “I’m so happy to represent my country. I joined the national team last year and I’ve been given a chance this year. It’s a big honor, and I’m also so happy that we’re going to host this tournament. It’s a pleasure to us as Ugandans.”
The Rugby Cranes’ preparations for the tournament have been intensive, with the team undergoing a rigorous training regime, including the 10-day camp in Gauteng, South Africa.
The players believe that the experience gained during the camp has been invaluable in identifying their strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to work on areas that needed improvement.
“When we went to South Africa, we learned our weaknesses and strengths, and we worked on them. We also learned from the challenges that we faced from there. The guys are big, and as Ugandans, we’re a bit smaller, but we played very well and won our first game,” said Opio.
Zziwa acknowledged that the preparations have been tough, with the team training three times a day, but he is confident that the team is ready to take on any opponent in the tournament.
“Preparations haven’t been easy, we’ve had long hours of training, we used to train three times a day, also went to South Africa to train, so it’s been a tough journey,” he said.
“But I believe that the team is ready given the preparations we’ve done in fitness, gameplay, and so on. I believe the team is ready to get the job done,” he added.
The Rugby Africa Cup will open on Saturday, July 20, with the defending champions, Namibia, taking on Burkina Faso at 10 am at Namboole.
The hosts Uganda, will then face Zimbabwe at 4 pm the same day. NBS Sport will provide full coverage of the tournament, broadcasting all 12 games across the three game days, featuring four matches each day.
Fans can access discounted tickets to watch the games on MTN, with prices set at UGX 10,000 for ordinary, UGX 40,000 for VIP, and UGX 150,000 for VVIP.
