Many a time in Ugandan rugby, words like ‘legend’ and ‘great’ are casually thrown around in conversation when talking about the men and women who have played the sport.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the term ‘legend’ means “someone very famous and admired, usually because of their ability in a particular area“ and ‘great’ is a similar approving adjective which also means “famous, powerful, or important.”
That said, to be brutally honest, some individuals whose names have been in conversations about legend and greatness are not worthy of being associated with those terms.
However, when it comes to Michael Wokorach, any which way you look at it, great and legend are his middle names.
For two reasons; which I will explain herein.
First, longevity
Michael Wokorach made his club rugby debut at Toyota Buffaloes in 2007 during his final year of high school (S6). He then switched to Heathens the following year (2008) and, for the past eighteen years, has been their loyal clubman.
He played as an outside back, a center and a loose-forward in tournaments like the Uganda Rugby Premiership, national 7s series and the Uganda Cup, the Makerere 10s, the Enterprise Cup and the Bamburi Super Series (for Rwenzori and Victoria franchises) against Kenyan opposition, and festival tours with East African Scorpions, England Counties and Blackrocks College.
Talking international rugby, Wokorach’s 7s debut was at the Rugby Africa 7s tournament from October 31 to November 1, 2008 in Tunis, Tunisia. This tournament served as a qualifier to the 2009 Rugby World Cup 7s in Dubai but Uganda did not make it.
Since then, for every year until 2023, Wokorach featured for Uganda during her international rugby 7s tours. The Rugby Africa Men’s 7s, the Commonwealth Games, the Olympic Games Repechages, the World Rugby 7s Series and festival tournaments like Safari 7s as an invitational team, and the World Rugby 7s Challenger Series… name them all.
When it comes to test rugby, Wokorach made his test rugby debut on August 15, 2009, during the Elgon Cup (vs Kenya Simbas) at the RFUEA Grounds along Ngong Road in Nairobi, Kenya.
Almost identically, he featured for the Rugby Cranes every year for ten years until 2019 when he announced his first retirement. The extensive list of tournaments in which he played include the Elgon Cup, the different variations of the Rugby Africa Men’s Cup, and various internationally recognised test matches.
Wokorach returned to the Rugby Cranes fold in 2021 following the passing of then coach Robert Seguya and played an extra two years. His last appearance was during the 2023 Victoria Cup at Kings Park when he became the most capped player with 54 caps to his name.
Secondly, Individual and Team Honours
One runs out of fingers on which to count Michael Wokorach’s trophy and awards collection.
His club honours include eleven rugby premiership titles (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014/15, 2016/17, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2022, 2024), seven Uganda Cups (2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2022, 2023/24), five national 7s series titles (2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2024) and three Makerere Tens titles (2009, 2010, 2012).
For and with Uganda, he is a two-time Elgon Cup (2012 and 2015) and one-time Victoria Cup (2023) winner, plus a two-time Rugby Africa Men’s 7s (2017 and 2022) and a 2022 Rugby World Cup 7s Bowl (ninth-place finish) winner.
Wokorach also bagged individual awards like the Uganda Rugby Union Awards men’s MVP and the USPA Media Rugby Player of the Year gong both twice in 2013 and 2015.
Michael Wokorach, in both capacities of the rugby player and the man, has been described by former teammates, opponents and coaches, other Ugandan sporting internationals, long-serving journalists and adoring fans in superlatives of words like “accomplished, amazing, competitive, disciplined, extraordinary, great, incredible, passionate, phenomenal, professional, stellar” and many others.
Some people have chosen, and rightfully so, to not look at the statistics and duration of Michael Wokorach’s career in determining whether he is worthy of GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) status. He was the complete rugby player because of how exceptionally well he performed in attack and on defence. With his array of skills and physical abilities, he owned Uganda and Heathens’ number 13 jersey and was respected by all his opponents.
Whichever way one looks at it, the question of “Who is Uganda Rugby’s GOAT?” now has one more strongly valid answer.
Because Michael Wokorach’s name is thoroughly deserving of rolling off the tongue in conversations about Uganda’s greatest rugby players of all time.
