Share this article

Uganda’s national rugby team, the Rugby Cranes is up for a significant match against Zimbabwe’s Sables at Namboole Stadium today Saturday 20^th July 2024. Key players like Philip Wokorach and debutants are expected to make an impact as Uganda aims for victory in the Africa Cup, emphasizing their determination to succeed after 17 years.

Rugby Africa Cup

Fixtures

Saturday

Namibia v Burkina Faso 10am

Kenya v Senegal 12am

Algeria v Cote D’Ivoire 2pm

Uganda v Zimbabwe 4pm

Uganda is gearing up for an explosive encounter against Zimbabwe’s Sables at Namboole Stadium today

The teams are in the country and the stars are ready to shine. For Team Uganda, the pressure is definitely on, but they remain confident they can overcome the third-ranked side on the continent.

“We have built a team that has built a lot of confidence. Looking at last year and then this year, we have tried very much to give the players the competence to compete with confidence. We have tried to upskill them and give them a lot of strategies in defence and attack. They have lots of options to put scores on board. What we achieved in South Africa (SA) was amazing. Yes, we won one and lost two but we picked a lot of positives in those games in SA,” said Rugby Cranes back coach Leonard Lubabmbula.

Uganda camped in South Africa for a few weeks as they sought to get the team on the right path ahead of the championship. The side will be leaving behind the familiar sites of Kyadondo, Legends, and Kings Park and will make the outside pitch at Namboole home. The fear is the pitch is unfamiliar but luckily the Ugandan fans could easily dwarf any outside noise from other fans.

“We have not had an opportunity to play on that turf but guess what we have put that on the back burner. We are home and we shall take it as if we are at Kyadondo or Kings Park. We visited the stadium. We have not been able to play on the turf and we are treating it as we did the two fields we played on in South Africa. Same Turf same grass and I think it’s not much difference. It is a positive on our side and we do not want to take that as a weakness on our side,” he explained.

It’s been 17 years since Uganda won the Africa Cup and history beckons. The return of Philip Wokorach will add an extra edge to the team while debutants like Alex Aturinda, Jude Jjuko, Jones Kamiza, Arnold Ocen, Brian Wandera, and Wilfred Kalungi will be learning the game from the deep end.

Full squad

Forwards

Nathan Bwambale, Faragi Odugo, Jude Jjuko, Santos Ssenteza, Mike Otto, Saul Kivumbi, Asuman Mugerwa, Eliphaz Emong, Julius Opio, Charles Uhuru, Robert Aziku, Brian Wandera, Sidney Gongodyo, Moses Zziwa, Alex Aturinda, Mark Omoding, Byron Oketayot

Backs

Wilfred Kalungi, Joseph Aredo, Thomas Gwokto, Jones Kamiza, Timothy Kisiga, Shakim Ssembusi, Joseph Oyet, Arnold Ocen, Philip Wokorach, Conrad Wanyama, and Ivan Magomu (captain)