{"id":58484,"date":"2023-10-27T14:39:58","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T14:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/rugby-cranes-rally-to-regain-test-rugbys-lost-clout"},"modified":"2023-10-27T16:07:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-27T16:07:07","slug":"rugby-cranes-rally-to-regain-test-rugbys-lost-clout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/rugby-cranes-rally-to-regain-test-rugbys-lost-clout","title":{"rendered":"Rugby Cranes rally to regain test rugby\u2019s lost clout"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. <\/strong><\/span>The Rugby Cranes assemble this Saturday at Kings Park Arena, Bweyogerere for a Victoria Cup clash against Zambia before playing Kenya at the same venue a week later.<\/b><\/p>\n

It will be the first time they are in action at home with fans in front of fans in four years.<\/p>\n

The last time Uganda hosted a men\u2019s test competition was Rugby Africa Cup Pool C which had Ghana and Algeria hosted at Kyadondo Rugby Club for the one-week tournament, played behind empty stands due to pandemic restrictions.<\/p>\n

Uganda won the group with six points to progress.<\/p>\n

The Rugby Cranes\u2019 next job was away in Aix-en-Provence, France for the 2022 Rugby Africa Men\u2019s Cup where they climaxed with a 30\u201329 win over Senegal to finish fifth out of eight nations.<\/p>\n

Since then, the Elgon and Victoria Cups have both been cancelled once.<\/p>\n

No test rugby has been played by the Rugby Cranes since then. The return of test rugby at Kings Park will be a massive occasion the players want to use to rebuild the brand affected by the Covid -19 Pandemic and prioritisation of the Rugby Cranes 7s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to bring 15s international rugby back to the top where it belongs. It has also been a long time since we played in front of our fans and we want to give our best.\u201d said captain Ivan Magomu who is deputised by Pirates\u2019 teammate Conrad Wanyama and Kobs’ Byron Oketayot.<\/p>\n

The trip to France was also his second mission as captain after getting the role in June 2021 prior to the Rugby Africa Cup Pool C games. He thinks this group can transform into something special as it undergoes a rebuild.<\/p>\n

Eight debutants Liam Walker, Kato Nicolas, Shafik Sembusi, Timothy Kisiga, Sydney Gongodyo, Frank Kidega and Jude JJuko come with youth and are expected to become mainstays in future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have gone for experience and youth, we can\u2019t throw away the experience particularly because of the ball they are going to set. As years go by, the experienced guys could be dropping off and the debutants filling their places,\u201d said head coach Fred Mudoola after the final 28-man squad announcement at Kings Park on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Test rugby was the epitome of the game in Uganda but the last five years have seen unavoidable circumstances force it play second to the shorter code.<\/p>\n

Squad: <\/b>Faraji Odugo, Nathan Bwambale, Jude Jjuko, Santos Senteza, Ivan Kabagambe, Collins Kimbowa, Charles Uhuru, Robert Aziku, Eliphaz Emong, Joachim Chisaano, Mark Omoding, Sydney Gongodyo, Frank Kidega, Byron Oketayot (Vice-captain), Asuman Mugerwa, Nicolas Kato, Liam Walker, Eric Mula , Thomas Gwokto, Alhadji Manano, Michael Wokorach, Timothy Kisiga, Shakim Sembusi, Jacob Ochen, Joseph Oyet, Conrad Wanyama (vice-captain) and Ivan Magomu (captain)<\/p>\n

Rugby Cranes fixtures <\/b><\/p>\n

Saturday: Uganda vs. Zambia, Kings Park<\/p>\n

October 31: Kenya vs. Zambia, Kyadondo<\/p>\n

November 5: Uganda vs. Kenya, Kings Park<\/p>\n

November 11: Kenya vs Uganda, Kisumu<\/p>\n

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

Africa-Press – Uganda. The Rugby Cranes assemble this Saturday at Kings Park Arena, Bweyogerere for a Victoria Cup clash against Zambia before playing Kenya at the same venue a week later. It will be the first time they are in action at home with fans in front of fans in four years. The last time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":58483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-58484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nRugby Cranes rally to regain test rugby\u2019s lost clout - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Rugby Cranes assemble this Saturday at Kings Park Arena, Bweyogerere for a Victoria Cup clash against Zambia befo ...\" \/>\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\/uganda\/all-news\/rugby-cranes-rally-to-regain-test-rugbys-lost-clout\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rugby Cranes rally to regain test rugby\u2019s lost clout\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Rugby Cranes assemble this Saturday at Kings Park Arena, Bweyogerere for a Victoria Cup clash against Zambia befo ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/rugby-cranes-rally-to-regain-test-rugbys-lost-clout\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-27T14:39:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-27T16:07:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2023\/10\/sm_1698410172.746503.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\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=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/rugby-cranes-rally-to-regain-test-rugbys-lost-clout#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/rugby-cranes-rally-to-regain-test-rugbys-lost-clout\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Rugby Cranes rally to regain test rugby\u2019s lost clout\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-27T14:39:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-27T16:07:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/rugby-cranes-rally-to-regain-test-rugbys-lost-clout\"},\"wordCount\":497,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/rugby-cranes-rally-to-regain-test-rugbys-lost-clout#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2023\/10\/sm_1698410172.746503.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/rugby-cranes-rally-to-regain-test-rugbys-lost-clout#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/rugby-cranes-rally-to-regain-test-rugbys-lost-clout\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/rugby-cranes-rally-to-regain-test-rugbys-lost-clout\",\"name\":\"Rugby Cranes rally to regain test rugby\u2019s lost clout - 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