Jinja is a hotbed of sporting talent in Uganda, and this legacy continues with the sprouting of Storm Rugby.
Storm Rugby Football Club, or simply Storm, is the latest outfit to come out of the eastern Uganda district. In familiar terms, Storm is the grandchild of the great Nile RFC of yesteryears, having risen from the Jinja Hippos, an offspring of the now-defunct outfit.
The dissolution of Nile RFC also led to the birth of the Walukuba Barbarians, who have since produced offshoots like Bugembe and Budondo, as well as a women’s side, the Walukuba Titans.
Only formed in November of 2025, Storm boasts of 37 members thus far, including 28 players.
According to Joshua Wakabi, the club chairman, Storm is an umbrella club for Storm Rugby (men), Lightning (Women), and Thunder, their development side. Although the club has just broken ground, they have ambitious aspirations.
“We want to take rugby in Uganda by storm, ensuring that we play the best rugby and are a model club that puts youth and talent at the forefront of everything that we do,” says Wakabi.
Storm has a clear vision: to be a club for the players, by the players. To do this, Wakabi, while alluding to the history of the club and its players, says that they have put in place some safeguards.
“This is a player-centred club but we believe we can safeguard these players by writing a robust constitution and making sure that players lead the club, develop the club and are at the center of decision making.”
He further expounds on the safeguards: “We have to ensure that we protect these players and they are benefiting from this. For example, through job placements, ensuring that they have some income-generating projects, and for those in school, providing them with the required support and scholarships to ensure they finish school.”
Institutional growth and longevity are high on the agenda for Storm. In terms of recruitment and grassroots development, Storm has an age-grade program where they are targeting about 7 schools within Jinja.
“We’ve appointed a coach to take care of that and this includes rugby clinics during the holidays and also supporting these schools during the school term to develop basic rugby skills,” says Wakabi.
It is no secret that some senior players are going to cross over from the Jinja Hippos to Storm, but Wakabi says they have more strategies in place.
“Jinja has many academic institutions and we believe that there is potential there. Having an outreach program there would be beneficial to us in terms of developing players, not only to grow our player base but also our fan base, because we believe this is a sport for young people.”
Additionally, Storm aims to partner with other clubs, not only in Uganda and East Africa, but also abroad. Not only to find ways to support the growth of the game, but to also have player exchange and coaching programs.
The Lightning, as the Storm women’s side shall be known, is a project that they have in the pipeline.
“I’m happy to note that this is something we take seriously and we believe that women’s rugby should continue and should grow, and we put in place the necessary structure and support,” noted Wakabi.
The Storm are yet to settle on a home ground but we know for sure that it shall be in Jinja City.
When fully functional, they’ll start their rugby journey in the Eastern Uganda Rugby Championship, where teams like Njeru Hurricanes are eagerly waiting for them.
As the Kakira Simbas have proven before, it can be done.
Great piece. Rugby needs to do more, be visible and to be played. Passion and strategy combined are key to achieving more