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English “Kiira College Butiki to put up a challenge in the national schools rugby 15s” Sewaya Ismail Miti.
I had a one on one interview with the head of sports department at Kiira College Butiki who is also as an old boy of the school, Mr Sewaya Ismail Miti and we talked about the journey of Rugby in the traditional school.
When was rugby introduced at kiira College butiki?
Rugby was at first being played illegally at the hill. Some boys from Namilyango, SMACK had the idea of the game but school administration was not okay with it.
What boosted the school administration to allow rugby at the college in that you have been able to represent the Eastern region at the Uganda Secondary School National games for a couple of years?
The school had a partnership with Hampton College from UK. Eventually in the mid 2000s, one of the student visitors from Hampton brought the idea of rugby.
It began but at a low that was around 2011 but there needed someone to actively engage the boys so In 2014 I joined Kiira College Butiki and together with Mr Owachi Samuel we decided to promote the game, that was the same time I introduced handball.
When was the first time when the school qualified for the national games?
I secured the invitation to the national games in 2014 that were hosted in Lira by Lango College From that year KCB has been playing serious rugby and as I speak now, rugby and handball are household games at the college.
Do you feel proud introducing serious Rugby at the College?
YES, I do. This happened recently in 2019 when the KCB rugby 7s represented Uganda in East African games held in Arusha, Tanzania in which we finished 6th.
What are the successful moments one would say that the college has attained from the time they started playing the discipline?
The boys have worn a number of trophies for the college which is a plus.
The Uganda rugby union has been blessed with so many of our talents playing in clubs now to for example: Fudribo Anabo Rian and Abwang Godwin playing for Rhinos, Wampande Shafic for Impis and Magero Humphrey for Makerere.
And almost all the rugby clubs in jinja are full of our students, so to me this is a great success.
What have been the challenges faced from the time you introduced rugby at the hill?
Negative attitude by people including teachers claiming that rugby is rough.
Being far from the city, we lack exposure and yet we always have talented boys year in year out.
Our training is limited to a small area since our field is not yet well levelled.
Equipment is still a challenge so let me take this opportunity to seek for any kind of support so that we improve the game.
Which school did you eliminate to qualify for this year’s national games?
Our qualification was almost automatic since o school in Busoga region came up to challenge us.
The only challenge came from mbale, but even then the Mbale schools failed to raise a formidable resistance, so we played clubs for building up.
Who are the opponents you feel will give your boys a tight challenge at the nationals?
We expect to have challenges from the rugby traditional schools like Namilyango, makerere college. But we are set for the challenges ahead of us.
Which other stakeholders have made this a success for you to have a strong school rugby team in the Eastern region?
First of all I would like to thank God for this far we have reached.
On top of that I would like to take this opportunity to thank the old boys who donated a new kit and truck suits that the boys will use at the national games in Gulu.
We are grateful to walukuba rugby club for the technical support they have rendered to rugby at KCB and the head coach Denis Wakate from walukuba rugby club for guiding the boys.
We are also grateful to Gym Galaxy Jinja, for giving us free gym sessions, Mr Duncan Kirya and coach Leo may God bless you.
What should we expect from the National games in Gulu?
All I can say expect the best from us and God will do the rest. Thank you.
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This is really great stuff.Digging deep into rugby grass roots has always been the thing that makes the sport grow to even higher levels…Rugby must reach to even the deepest villagers in the country….Uganda Rugby Union needs to look more into offering necessary facilities. Thank you so much for this Wilfred…every sport is started from grass roots..