At the start of last year, the Uganda Rugby Union (URU) released an annual activity calendar.
Now that URU has released the 2026 calendar, it’s only right that we scrutinise the former before moving on to the latter.
In this article, it’s not enough that we tick boxes of what was done and what wasn’t. We are going to dig into the extent of what was done when assessing the performance of URU in 2025.
National 15s and 7s
URU oversaw a challenging start to the local 15s league. For the first 3 game weeks, the league was self-funded as the sponsorship remained in balance. That, however, didn’t stop the league from going on successfully in the regular season and moving on to a competitive playoff phase that culminated in a mouthwatering final between the Black Pirates and Hippos.
All the fixtures were honoured, albeit with transport challenges for upcountry sides and an unceremonious walk-off.
The National 7s were a huge success for URU. All the core 12 men’s sides honoured the 7 circuits, while the competitiveness of the women’s 7s overshadowed the initial madness of the Nile Rapids. The Walukuba Barbarians lifting the National 7s added pomp to the party.
Verdict: Well Done
Men and Women’s Africa 7s
The Rugby Cranes 7s returned to the Rugby Africa Men’s 7s as defending champions without the core of the previous tournament’s winners. With 4 returnees, the Cranes finished 5th overall, not a bad return for a largely inexperienced side.
Although putting up a great performance at the RFUEA Grounds, the Lady Cranes 7s could only manage to finish with a bronze medal once again. Once the Ladies figure out the Kenya Lionesses question, they’ll be unstoppable on the continent.
Verdict: Well Done
Rugby Africa Cup 15s Women and Men
The Lady Cranes 15s saw a fast rise in 2025. They rose from the second tier of the African competition to finish 3rd in the 1st tier, all while having only a month before tournaments.
In putting that set up together under coach Charles One, URU outdid themselves.
For the men’s competition, the organization was spotless once again. URU was such a great host, we let the visitors win, on and off the pitch. As a Uganda rugby fan, you have to envy the neutrals and majirani who enjoyed the sherehe on the 3 game days.
Verdict: Well Done
Safari 7s
Uganda was represented by 2 senior and 2 age-grade teams at the Safari 7s. The young boys and girls, along with the ladies, brought home honours, while the men didn’t do themselves any favours on the pitch.
Overall, it was a learning curve on the pitch with a new coach for the men, but URU taking such a huge contingent deserves applause.
Verdict: Well Done
Core Status Qualifiers 15s and 7s
In the upcoming season, the 15s championship shall have a new outfit in the Kakira Simbas while the National 7s welcome the Victoria Sharks and Mbale Elephants. This outcome is a result of successfully held core status qualifiers organized by URU.
Verdict: Well Done
Uganda Cup
The delayed but played Uganda Cup was a box ticked for URU. This was the 2nd consecutive time the men’s tournament was being played in the 20-team expanded format.
Coming off the back of the National 7s, teams were already depleted in personnel and finances, leading to failure to travel and fielding relatively second-string sides in the group phase.
Nonetheless, the knockout phase was competitive, with Pirates emerging as the overall champions, prevailing over the holders, the Heathens.
Verdict: Done
Challenger Series
The Lady Cranes started the Challenger Series on a high, finishing in the top 4 at the Dubai leg of the series.
After the Cape Town legs, the Lady Cranes were within the top 8, qualifying for the final leg in Krakow, Poland. Due to visa issues, the Lady Cranes unfortunately couldn’t make it to Poland, turning their attention to the Rugby Africa Division II tournament.
The Rugby Cranes 7s, on the other hand, had a poor outing in the Challenger Series, but they showed up regardless.
Verdict: Done
Regional 15s and 7s
The regional competitions in the 15s and 7s were marred by walkovers and in some instances, allegations of ‘cooked’ results. Despite the hiccups in the regional tournaments, representatives arose and competed in the core status qualifiers.
Verdict: Done
Tunisia test matches
After opening up a channel with the North Africans, it had been hoped that this was an annual activity.
The Tunisia tests were once again scheduled for 2025, having not been held in 2024. Unfortunately, the tests did not happen, largely owing to a busy schedule on both ends, with Uganda preparing for the Rugby Africa Cup while Tunisia was locked in the Rugby Africa Cup Division II.
Verdict: Not Done
Victoria and Elgon Cup
These two competitions were concurrently held in 2023 and were slated for November 2025, but were not held. That left the Rugby Cranes 15s with only 3 test matches for the whole calendar year.
Verdict: Not Done
Note: Each activity above has a 10% score for Well Done, 5% for Done and 0 % for the Not Done scheduled activities.
Overall Verdict: 65%