The squad has been selected for the first ever Ugandan national side to grace a World Cup stage, bringing elation for some and devastation for those unlucky ones to miss the cut for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009 in Dubai next month.
One of the lucky 12, Helen Buteme in her latest weekly blog for www.rwcsevens.com gives us an insight into the emotions the players went through as they learned their fate as well as an introduction to the characters of the Ugandan Women's Sevens side bound for Dubai.
As individuals, this has probably been the toughest and at the same time the most important week of our rugby lives so far. We have been 16 girls battling for those 12 places to the World Cup and everyone was pulling out the stops to impress the coaches.
We could not take anything for granted as the coaches kept telling us that they were having a hard time selecting the team so prior to the 12 being named there was a lot of tension and suspense, which was becoming quite unbearable.
When the team was named there were different responses from the players: some felt relieved that the decision had finally been made, others were ecstatic at being chosen to represent Uganda at the World Cup while others were crushed that they were dropped.
Personally, I’m glad that the hard work I have put in and the sacrifices I’ve made were all worth it – there’s nothing bigger than the World Cup – and I am really happy for my teammates too.
On the other hand, knowing how hard we have all worked over the last year I feel really bad that four girls had to be dropped. I know that not everyone could make it on the team but it does seem somewhat unfair that they get do not get the big prize despite their efforts.
Two players were named as non-travelling reserves and they still train with us and put in just as much effort as everyone else. The other two players come round to watch us train and give us loads of moral support. They are obviously disappointed not to be going but they still feel part of the team and are doing what they can to support us.
Training this week has been lighter and more relaxed than usual. We are really just polishing our moves and getting to know each other inside out. We are a lot calmer than we’ve been before and now we are just counting down the days to the World Cup.
Now that our squad for Dubai has been selected, I can give you a bit of an insight in the players because our team has such different characters in it.
Racheal Kakaire, Charlotte Mudoola, Christine Kizito and I make no pretensions to being ladies - you will always find us in jeans and sneakers! Unfortunately that always lands us in trouble as we keep being chased out of the ladies washrooms by the washroom attendants!
Winnie Atyang is the joker in the team – she loves imitating other players or the coaches and she usually teams up with Rosenburg Kanyunyuzi to get up to all sorts of mischief. Rose never stops laughing and has a smile for every occasion – even during roadwork!
At 22 years old, Brenda Kayiyi is the youngest player on the team but the honour of being the baby of the team goes to Charlotte, despite being two years older than Brenda. Charlotte goes out of her way to get out of doing team chores – most of the time without success – and she likes being pampered.
Justine Bayigga is Uganda’s 100m, 200m and 400m champion and she represented Uganda during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She first touched a rugby ball in October last year but has picked up the game amazingly fast. She’s our danger woman on the wing.
We have other players who have also represented Uganda in other sports: Racheal and Harriet Kayonjo (football), Agnes Nantongo (basketball) and Joan Andika (cricket and hockey). They have been alternating between the two sports, but since last year rugby has been their priority.
On the pitch we are all serious but off the pitch we sometimes get a little infected with Winnie and Rose’s kind of madness – except for Joan. She is extremely quiet and reserved and the most laid back person on the team. She gives us disapproving looks when she thinks we are getting too rowdy and that is enough to make us settle down.
When things get tough on pitch girls listen out for my voice. They do not have to listen very hard though because I am extremely loud! Funnily enough when I yell the girls push themselves harder – maybe so that I can shut up but whatever the reason it is effective!
As a team we do not rely on individuals to take us through a game, although we do have our individual strengths which we combine to create a great Sevens outfit. Winnie, Fortunate Irankunda, Agnes, Aalliya Adania and Christine are our hit women, while Brenda and Prossy Nakakande can be counted on not to let anything past them. Rose, Charlotte and Racheal distribute the ball while Harriet and Joan create space out of nothing. Justine and I run around tidying up loose ends.
We have worked out our respective roles pretty well and even if one person is to get injured another player can easily take their place and the game goes on, so I figure we are a great team and our opponents will have to watch out for every single one of us.
The team is pretty excited to have New Zealand as our first opponents. We think that it is better to play the toughest opponents first and gauge ourselves. They are ranked in the top four in the world so we know it is going to be a really tough game, but we are not going to lie down and let them walk all over us.
Neither team knows much about the other but what we do know is that the world expects New Zealand to win, so it’s really up to us to surprise them and everyone else.
Finally, my thought for the week is dare to dream … that is what makes life so exciting. After all a year ago for Uganda to play at Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009 would have been considered really unrealistic … now let’s see how far we can take this dream.
Helen Buteme will bring us more news from the Uganda camp next week, but in the meantime you can check out her blog which is keeping their fans around the world in the know as Dubai draws ever closer.
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