William Nkore, Ivan Otema and Karim Arinaitwe returned from the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town, South Africa without any game time under their belts. The trio have been released by Bowl-winning head coach Tolbert Onyango to their clubs for this weekend’s Tooro Sevens circuit.
“Ivan Otema, Karim Arinaitwe and William Nkore are cleared to play this weekend. The rest are on a break,” Tolbert Onyango is quoted to have said by Uganda Rugby Union earlier this week.
The Uganda Men’s Sevens are currently on an off-season break. They are expected to be summoned for training ahead of the Dubai Sevens on December 2-3 and Cape Town Sevens the following weekend.
Thus, Nkore (Pirates), Otema (Heathens) and Arinaitwe (Kobs) will feature for their respective clubs for the first time in this year’s Nile Special Sevens Series during the fourth circuit hosted by the Western Region at Buhinga Stadium in Fort Portal City.
Pools for Tooro Sevens:
- Pool A: Kobs, Buffaloes, Warriors, Mbarara Titans.
- Pool B: Heathens, Rams, Impis, Tooro Lions.
- Pool C: Jinja Hippos, Pirates, Walukuba Barbarians, Mongers.
Tooro Lions, the home team, were drawn in Pool B alongside current series leaders Heathens while Mbarara Titans, the Western region champions, are in Pool A with the latest circuit – Rujjumba Sevens – winners Kobs.
Jinja Hippos’ back Timothy Mugisha leads the Top Try Scorers’ charts with seventeen tries ahead of Heathens veteran Lawrence Sssebuliba (16) and power forward Joaquim Chisano (15).
The tournament will kick off at 8 a.m. EAT with the pool round in the morning session before the winner is determined in the knockouts during the afternoon session.