- 13th African Games Accra 2023 – Rugby Sevens
- Venue: University of Ghana Rugby Stadium
- Date: March 19-21, 2024
Uganda Men’s 7s arrived in Accra, Ghana mid-last week on the back of a disappointing outing at the 7s Challenger in Montevideo, Uruguay. It was a tournament where all went well during the pool phase before catastrophically crumbling in the quarterfinals; a stage at which they have failed since the tournament’s inception in 2020.
Fortunately for them, the African Games will not have a quarterfinal or knockouts. Rather, with only seven countries confirming participation, the tournament will be played in a single-leg round-robin format. But unfortunately for them, it comes with even more pressure given their status and experience in Rugby Sevens compared to the rest of the continent.
Captain Ian Munyani acknowledges this pressure to deliver gold for Uganda but he is banking on knowledge from past meetings with other participating countries.
“It comes with quite a bit of pressure. We have to perform given that we are ranked first in the tournament. We have played all teams before apart from Benin. We know what all teams can bring to the table and we know how to counter that.
“The goal still remains the same; a gold medal for our country. It’s the first time we are participating in these games so it would be an honour for Uganda to be the first to win that gold medal; and an honour for the players.”
Coach Tolbert Onyango urged his players to “get the processes right” during the tournament to avoid a repeat of their performance at the previous outing.
“First, to the players, it’s about getting our processes right. There were just a couple of lapses in the game in the previous weekend that happened and we put ourselves in a tight spot. Next week, we look forward to staying in the game for as long as possible, ensuring that we have maximum concentration for the fourteen minutes, and just doing the basics right.”
Uganda will begin their charge for Rugby 7s gold at the inaugural African Games on Tuesday afternoon against Zimbabwe.