Rams RFC did the unthinkable, defeating the Walukuba Barbarians, Black Pirates and Heathens to win the Kyadondo 7s.

The Rams arrived at the Kyadondo 7s as underdogs, having only finished 11th and 6th in the first two stops of the National 7s.

The side started Day 1 of the Kyadondo 7s with an emphatic 24-7 win against the Mongers, then capped off the day with an important draw against Black Pirates after Ryan Thierry Jjuuko kicked the ball into touch to salvage 2 match points.

On Day 2, the Rams continued with their impressive form, defeating the National 7s defending champions, Walukuba Barbarians, 22-14.

However, the most memorable win came in the semi-final against the Black Pirates, whom they stunned early in the first half through Hosanna Opileni’s brilliant try. From thereon, it was one-way traffic as Opileni finished off a hat trick of tries, while Jjuuko scored a try of the ages off the scrum.

With a scrum in the 22 territory of the Pirates, Edrine Obbo’s scrum was successful, passing the ball out to Jjuuko, who was in first receiver. Jjuuko had the passing option of Hashim Kabogoza at center but didn’t need him, pulling off a brilliant dummy switch to run out to the wing.

At the wing, Yusuf Semakula was ready to receive the ball, but once again Jjuuko pulled off an audacious dummy switch, leaving his own teammate beaten, in addition to the two Pirates defenders and Kawowo Sports’ very own cameramen.

In the final, the Kyadondo 7s eventual MVP, Semakula, was blessed twice with a lucky bounce of the ball, first from a kick by Jjuuko, and then next by his own sheer brilliance.

Lawrence Ssebuliba’s two unconverted tries were not enough for the Heathens as they ended up losing the final 12-10.

With that win, the Rams climbed up the overall standings from 9th to 6th ahead of the Lawiirwodi 7s in Gulu.

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When Kyadondo Rugby Club hosts the 3rd Stop of the National 7s, some teams will play without some of their preferred starters.

The most affected teams are the top sides like Black Pirates, Heathens, KOBs and Buffaloes, whose players are away on national team duty.

Other teams like the Walukuba Barbarians, Mongers and Victoria Sharks have lost a player each, but those missing players have been quite pivotal for them in the first two Stops of the National 7s.

This is a problem that teams should have anticipated at the start of the National 7s season, as the calendar was quite clear. However, this problem presents an opportunity for teams to test their squad depths and utilise some of the players in their wider Rugby 7s camps.

A window of opportunity has now opened for the youngsters and some of the older players who have been on the sidelines or returning from injury.

Case in point, the KOBs have called up youngster Shafic Okole, who is only a schoolboy at Upperhill School in Kenya. The young halfback showed great potential with the Boks and even made a couple of appearances for KOBs in last year’s Uganda Cup. The old guard of players like Byron Oketayot and Faragi Odugo is back in the fold for the Kyadondo 7s, while returning players like Jaffer Abdallah and Patrick Ochan have the opportunity to impress in the absence of Ian Munyani and Karim Arinaitwe.  

Additionally, first team starters who were not selected for the National 7s get to stand up in leadership roles. Brian Wandera for the KOBs, Gift Wokorach for the Walukuba Barbarians, Jones Kamiza for the Black Pirates and Heathens’ returning duo of Innocent Thomas Gwokto and Lawrence Ssebuliba have all been named as captains or vice-captains while the club leaders are away.

It is now time to test the strength of the wider 72-player base that teams are expected to register at the start of the season, in addition to the mid-season transfers like Nicholas Kato for Pirates and Andrew Odhiambo for the Heathens.

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Black Pirates lifted their 3rd consecutive Rujumba 7s title to go top of the table in the National 7s series after two stops.

The Pirates left with a perfect record of 6 wins out of 6 games while having a glimpse of what the final would look like after defeating Heathens on Day 1.

That 17-10 victory for the Pirates came with a huge price to pay as Conrad Wanyama was ruled out for the rest of the tournament with a head injury. That same incident also cost the Heathens, as Aaron Ofoyrwoth, the offending party, was slapped with a 10-match ban.

In the knockout phase, the Pirates ran riot against the Rams in the quarterfinal, defeating them 31-00.

The real challenge came against the resurgent KOBs, who had welcomed back players like Joseph Aredo. That tight encounter saw the Pirates come from behind to score a winning try and conversion through Roy Kizito and Jones Kamiza, respectively, in the last play to win 19-14.

In the final, the Heathens were stunned when Pirates scored two quick tries through Kamiza and Jeremiah Ojambo to go ahead 14-00. The Pirates were then punished when Allan Karuhanga received a yellow card, with the Heathens scoring through Patrick Okello.

Malcom Okello’s casual conversion went wide, but he had the opportunity to redeem himself when Alphonse Openy scored center posts to bring the score to 14-12 for Pirates.

The second half of the final was an emotional rollercoaster for the players and fans as the lead in the game exchanged hands twice.

Malcom Okello’s 2 tries and a conversion put the Heathens 24-14 ahead, before the tides in the game turned for the Sea Robbers once more.

The introduction of Haruna Muhammad and Nicholas Kato in the second half proved to be a genius move as the two combined to put Pirates ahead and seal the final, 26-24.

That victory confirmed that the Black Pirates had completed the Rujumba 7s 3-peat, with the last side to touch the accolade being Heathens in 2023.

Meanwhile, the Black Pearls completed their Rujumba 7s 3-peat last year, but have since struggled both in the league and now in the 2026 National 7s, where they are at the bottom of the women’s log.

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