Hi! Are you excited as I am for the return-to-rugby? It is now under 10 days to kick off of the 2021 Uganda rugby season.
Lets have a chat about one of the things I look forward to in this coming season.
An opportunity to better our best
It has been close to a year without any competitive rugby in Uganda, save for the fun Touch Rugby tournaments that have brought life into the weekends at various rugby grounds.
Now with a week to the official start of the 2021 season, I feel this is an opportunity for Ugandan rugby to better our best at all levels. An opportunity to clean up last year’s mistakes. An opportunity for a fresh start.
I’ve been thinking what and where we can do better this season.
- Record keeping: Last season was characterised by multiple complaints from players, clubs and the union about misrepresentation of records like try scorers, cards and team sheets. It will be really encouraging to see an improvement in that department.
- Accountability and transparency: Information reaching me from multiple sources is that all clubs had received their UGX 10 million direct sponsorship and prize money for league finish position from the union. Which is really good to hear. However, this raises questions as to why the delivery has been done behind closed doors yet the announcement for the award of these awards was done in public at the start of the season. It leads to loss of public trust for the union and the clubs who appeared to be at loggerheads last season concerning this issue.
- Public relations and communication: From the outside, it looks like there are no structures within the clubs and the union on how to address the media. Anybody, including players, with an issue to raise runs to social media, especially Twitter to search for solutions. Generally, it does not look good at all. Yet this can be done through the right channels through private club platforms and leadership to the union.
This coming season, I look forward to witnessing a better working relationship between the media and rugby in Uganda. Players, clubs and the union making better use of social media tools available to them, and also the fourth estate. I would love to see some press releases or interviews before and after matches or events.
What are the places where you feel Ugandan rugby can make a change and improve as the new 2021 season kicks off in a week’s time?
A few transfer news and lots of rumours: A number of players and officials continue to appear in different camps as the transfer rumour mill continues to spin.
Former Uganda Rugby Cranes halfback and also former Rhinos & Warriors coach Kevin Makmot could be making a return to active rugby after being spotted in a training session with Buffaloes at Kyadondo. Still at Kyadondo, a number of players appear to have made the switch between Heathens and Buffaloes, like Romano Ogwal, Aaron Atooke among others.
Across at Legends, it is only a matter of time before Kobs confirm the addition of Robert ‘Okudi’ Masendi and others to the blue army. The juicier rumour however is that Kobs are close to obtaining the services of James Odong who was spotted training with the Uganda Men’s Sevens and taking the players’ COVID-19 test last week.
The transfer window closes on Friday, February 26, 2021 which is a week to the start of the 2021 Uganda rugby season.
After the Switch:
- Kenya Sevens (both men and women’s national teams) took part in the first round of the Madrid Sevens tournament in preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The Shujaa were losing finalists while the Lionesses were last in ranking. The second round of the inter-regional tournament will be played this weekend.
- New Zealand All Blacks legend Dan Carter announced his retirement from active playing rugby after a generously decorated career that lasted two decades. Read more about his record-breaking career in numbers here.
- On Friday, February 26, 2021, World Rugby is set to announce a package of player welfare principles. The package includes confirmation of increased rest days for Rugby World Cup 2023 and an increase in squad sizes for the tournament.
I am also excited to announce that the weekly ‘lerest updates’ video series will be resuming this week and running every Thursday at noon, with a few interesting bits for you.
Cheers!
