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How can the 2020 rugby season be scheduled?
A normal rugby season in Uganda is mainly split into three competitions; the Uganda Cup, the league and the sevens series. The schools league and the inter-university tournaments are held during the national academic program which is usually outside this normal season.
This normal season runs from around October to August. But this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have already lost the first month of October. And we are set to lose more time until late January when the proposed date of resumption of rugby is expected.
The design of the schedule of the Uganda rugby season is a responsibility of the Uganda Rugby Union, who have made it clear that it need not coincide with the international season that usually runs between May and August.
When all has been said and done, it goes without saying that the 2020 season is going to be different from any that we have seen before in the recent past. Tournaments could be cancelled and we are certainly going to have a compressed season. So how will the 2020 season be designed?
I’ve been thinking about it, and this is my opinion on how it can be done:
Cancel Uganda Cup, play all the leagues until completion and conclude with the sevens series
The Uganda Cup is a single leg knockout tournament of 4 rounds in which the winner takes all. It is the most inclusive competition on the calendar since regional and upcountry teams get the chance to tussle it out with the top teams in the country. The Uganda Cup has been held every year without fail as the opening competition of the new season since 1999. However, if we do away with it this year, there is just enough time for the leagues to be played until completion.
Looking at the competitions’ list from this year, the men’s fifteens league is the longest of them all. The Nile Special Stout Rugby Premier League has 10 teams who play 2 rounds against each other in a home-and-away format. This men’s league can run for 18 straight weekends from January 23 until May 29.
Within the same time frame, the women’s leagues and regional championships which are shorter can be completed. And as a way to avoid the confusion of relegation/promotion that characterised the conclusion of the 2019/20 season, the playoffs can be completed as well.
If the leagues coincide with the international schedule, especially for the Rugby Cranes, the players summoned can leave the clubs for national duty as is usually done during the sevens series. This would mostly affect the top teams vying for the trophy – like it does during sevens when they miss their best players – but they are also the teams with the advantage of squad depth since they have franchise teams in the regional championship.
What this proposed schedule does is give us all the possibility of returning to the normal schedule within one year. The new 2020/21 season can resume late October with all the tournaments on the calendar reinstated.
This week’s quiz question:
How many clubs have won the top tier Uganda rugby premier league since its inception in 1990? List them and how many titles each has won.
Answer is at the end of this newsletter.
In contrast, I thought about keeping the Uganda Cup on the calendar and scheduling each of the 4 rounds mid-week through January to April. But the practicability of having mid-week rugby in Uganda is still very low. For reasons like the financial costs of making it work, player availability due to school and work schedule, and if the said players are available, their load management.
I also thought about the leagues being split by the international window but in my opinion, the up to three months’ break is not ideal for a single tournament. Additionally, this would mean that the off-season period is significantly reduced for those that would be taking part in the sevens series.
With time running out at breakneck speed – we are about 3 months away from the proposed resumption date of January 28, 2021 – I believe that by now the URU should have at least given the clubs a hint about whichever format they are proposing to go with for the compressed 2020 season.
That will provide time for the teams to forward their feedback and any changes they would like to have. And also, most importantly to officially commence their pre-season program.
Quiz answer: 4. Heathens (14), Kobs (12), Impis (1), Black Pirates (1).
Thanks for reading this week’s Kawowo Rugby Switch. I look forward to hearing from you inbox via my email ernest@kawowo.com. Cheers!
