{"id":68719,"date":"2024-03-28T18:18:40","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T18:18:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league"},"modified":"2024-03-28T18:18:40","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T18:18:40","slug":"why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league","title":{"rendered":"Why are Muhanga Thunders, 1000 Hills out of 2024 Rugby league?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Rwandan rugby powerhouses 1000 Hills and Muhanga Thunders will not play the 2024 rugby league season, the local rugby body (RRF) has confirmed.<\/p>\n

Muhanga Thunders withdrew from the league just days before kickoff over the weekend citing financial constraints as indicated in the letter addressed to the federation on March 20.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe regret to inform you that our club Muhanga Thunders RFC has cancelled participation in Rwanda National Rugby League 2024, 15 aside,\u201d the club announced on its x account.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made this difficult decision…because our sponsor has stepped back in sponsoring our club toward participating in the league,\u201d the club further explained.<\/p>\n

Following Muhanga\u2019s last-minute withdrawal, the league season which kicked off in Rwamagana on Saturday, March 23, started with eight teams.<\/p>\n

They include defending champions Lions de Fer, Kigali Sharks, Kamonyi Puma, Rwamagana Hyppos, Rusizi-based side Resilience as well as newcomers Burera Tigers and UR Griezzlies which were both promoted from the second division last season and Gitisi TSS which is marking its debut season since being approved as new member of the Rugby Federation.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, 1000 Hills remain banned from participating in competitions organized by the federation until they fulfil documents required to become a member.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sad that they won\u2019t participate but we have no choice. We would do anything to have these teams back. We tried to help 1000 Hills, for instance, but, unfortunately, it didn\u2019t materialize,\u201d said Philippe Gakirage RRF second vice president.<\/p>\n

RRF vs 1000 Hills membership row<\/p>\n

Ex-rugby champions 1000 Hills and the local rugby federation have not been seeing eye to eye since the club was denied the 2023 league title under \u2018unclear circumstances\u2019 as previously alleged by club president Serge Shema.<\/p>\n

Shema accused the federation of being behind the club\u2019s persistent ban from participating in local competitions because of the pair\u2019s divided opinions on the state and development structure of the sport in Rwanda.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever we challenged them to elaborate more about their (RRF\u2019s) rugby development structure and sponsorships, they always felt that we were against them, which is not true because we are all doing what is best for our beloved sport,\u201d Shema told Times Sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the very time they started banning us from all competitions saying that we are not their member. We have been members for years,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

But RRF president Tharcisse Kamanda explained that the team was just requested to present a \u2018collaboration letter\u2019 provided by the district from which the club\u2019s headquarters are located just like other member teams did so the federation proceeds in registering them as a body recognized by the government of Rwanda.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe requested them that [collaboration] letter but they have never brought it. We hope they bring it so we can get them registered as requested because it\u2019s a condition…then they can resume competitions as usual. The doors are always open and we really wish to see them back in action because they contribute to a lot to this sport,\u201d Kamanda told Times Sport.<\/p>\n

Despite the standoff existing between the two parties, Times Sport has learnt that 1000 Hills submitted the \u2018collaboration letter\u2019 on Monday, March 25, for the federation to assess before deciding on lifting or maintaining the ban.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Kamanda said that there is no chance that the team will participate in the 2024 Rugby League even if it officially becomes a member because the documents that they are due to submit have delayed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too late to play the league because it has already started. We had given them enough time to work on the required documents but it is now too late. But they can still attend other competitions that we organize throughout the season,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

We won\u2019t back down…<\/p>\n

Despite the ban, Shema said that his team is focused on playing many friendly matches with regional and local teams to keep their players in the best shape as club prepares to celebrate 10-year anniversary which is due on June 14 and the Rugby festival in August.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough we cannot take part in the league, we will not stop playing. We will keep playing many friendlies with top teams in the country and in the region. We will also host a big team on our 10-year anniversary,\u201d Shema said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Rwandan rugby powerhouses 1000 Hills and Muhanga Thunders will not play the 2024 rugby league season, the local rugby body (RRF) has confirmed. Muhanga Thunders withdrew from the league just days before kickoff over the weekend citing financial constraints as indicated in the letter addressed to the federation on March 20. \u201cWe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":68718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[5416,760,763,5417,203,758],"class_list":["post-68719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-1000-hills","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-rwanda","tag-muhanga-thunders","tag-rugby","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy are Muhanga Thunders, 1000 Hills out of 2024 Rugby league? - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why are Muhanga Thunders, 1000 Hills out of 2024 Rugby league?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Rwanda. Rwandan rugby powerhouses 1000 Hills and Muhanga Thunders will not play the 2024 rugby league season, the local rugby body (RRF) has confirmed. Muhanga Thunders withdrew from the league just days before kickoff over the weekend citing financial constraints as indicated in the letter addressed to the federation on March 20. \u201cWe […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-28T18:18:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Why are Muhanga Thunders, 1000 Hills out of 2024 Rugby league?\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-28T18:18:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league\"},\"wordCount\":726,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/03\/sm_1711644322.37306.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"1000 Hills\",\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Rwanda\",\"Muhanga Thunders\",\"Rugby\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league\",\"name\":\"Why are Muhanga Thunders, 1000 Hills out of 2024 Rugby league? - Rwanda\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/03\/sm_1711644322.37306.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-28T18:18:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/03\/sm_1711644322.37306.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/03\/sm_1711644322.37306.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":700,\"caption\":\"Why are Muhanga Thunders, 1000 Hills out of 2024 Rugby league?\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why are Muhanga Thunders, 1000 Hills out of 2024 Rugby league?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/\",\"name\":\"Rwanda\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why are Muhanga Thunders, 1000 Hills out of 2024 Rugby league? - Rwanda","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why are Muhanga Thunders, 1000 Hills out of 2024 Rugby league?","og_description":"Africa-Press – Rwanda. Rwandan rugby powerhouses 1000 Hills and Muhanga Thunders will not play the 2024 rugby league season, the local rugby body (RRF) has confirmed. Muhanga Thunders withdrew from the league just days before kickoff over the weekend citing financial constraints as indicated in the letter addressed to the federation on March 20. \u201cWe […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league","og_site_name":"Rwanda","article_published_time":"2024-03-28T18:18:40+00:00","author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Why are Muhanga Thunders, 1000 Hills out of 2024 Rugby league?","datePublished":"2024-03-28T18:18:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league"},"wordCount":726,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/03\/sm_1711644322.37306.jpg","keywords":["1000 Hills","Africa Press","Africa Press-Rwanda","Muhanga Thunders","Rugby","Rwanda"],"articleSection":["all news","Sport"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league","name":"Why are Muhanga Thunders, 1000 Hills out of 2024 Rugby league? - Rwanda","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/03\/sm_1711644322.37306.jpg","datePublished":"2024-03-28T18:18:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/03\/sm_1711644322.37306.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/03\/sm_1711644322.37306.jpg","width":1200,"height":700,"caption":"Why are Muhanga Thunders, 1000 Hills out of 2024 Rugby league?"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-are-muhanga-thunders-1000-hills-out-of-2024-rugby-league#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why are Muhanga Thunders, 1000 Hills out of 2024 Rugby league?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/","name":"Rwanda","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}