Heathens RFC lifted the 2026 National 7s Series trophy, bringing an end to a two-year wait.

The Heathens last won a major title in their 2024 treble-winning season, thus ending a 713-day drought.

Poetically, the Heathens got back to winning ways by securing the 2026 National 7s title, which also happens to be the major trophy they last won on October 6, 2024.

This year’s accolade came after two semifinal finishes in the league and a silver medal in the 2025 Uganda Cup and National 7s.

The Kyadondo-based side got off to a false start at the Stone City 7s, finishing 4th despite naming arguably the strongest squad on paper.

At the Rujumba 7s, losing a club stalwart like Aaron Ofoyrwoth wasn’t enough to stop the Heathens, who ended up in second place.

For the rest of the Series, Heathens had to play without some of their key players like Norbert Okeny and Denis Etwau, who were called to the Rugby Cranes 7s team.

Despite the absence of the more experienced players, the young and new players stepped up for Heathens to manage another silver finish in their home Kyadondo 7s Stop. Players like Lawrence Ssebuliba and Innocent Thomas Gwokto were recalled into the fold, while marquee signings, Andrew Odhiambo and Gift Lukyamuzi, took over the reins.

At the Lawii Rwodi 7s in Gulu, Daniel Otema and Alphonse Openy stepped up to make sure that Heathens won their first National 7s Stop. This win cemented Heathens’ spot at the top, and the yellow machine held on despite faltering at the Kyabazinga 7s by finishing 4th.

With only one Stop left, all the Heathens had to do was make sure that they advanced from a tough Pool A that featured historical rivals, the KOBs, at the Kabaka Coronation 7s.

The eventual Stop winners initially lost to the KOBs in the Pool phase, but managed to pay back with interest in the semifinal, winning 22-00. By that point, the Heathens were already confirmed as National 7s overall winners, but they still yearned for some icing on the cake.

In the final, an Aaron Ofoyrwoth masterclass ensured that the Heathens had a comfortable 17-point lead at halftime. Despite the Walukuba Barbarians attempting a comeback by scoring a converted try, the Heathens’ lead was quite insurmountable, hence finishing as double winners at the Muteesa II Stadium, Wankulukuku.

Before the 2024 National 7s title, the Heathens had waited 11 years to win a 7s title, but had been very dominant in the 15s game. With the Uganda Cup up ahead, we wait and see if the winning form will continue.

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The Nile Rapids have topped the standings again after securing a third circuit win out of four stops.

Winning the Lawii Rwodi 7s in Gulu is personal for the Rapids for a couple of reasons. First, the Nile Rapids, as we have come to know them, were not properly represented in the 2025 Gulu 7s stop, emerging as the worst-performing team on that occasion. Second, they are coming off a 6th place finish at the Kyadondo 7s where they played without a huge chunk of their starting team.

On Day 1, the Rapids cruised through a Pool that had the She Wolves, Black Pearls and Ewes, topping that group to face off with the Avengers in the Semifinal. At that stage, the Rapids had their eyes set on the final. It took the individual brilliance of Fatuma Kirabo to secure the first try of the game, as she chipped the ball behind the defence line, followed by a kick and chase. Kirabo’s try was not converted, but the Rapids had to apply team effort to defend and send the game to sudden death.

In sudden death, Tina Akello’s kick was chased down by Jemima Namukose, who dramatically dotted down to send the Rapids into the final. Despite the conversion not being necessary in that scenario, Namukose nonetheless did some target practice whilst still in ecstasy.

The Nile Rapids scored first in the final through the returning Gorreti Babirye, and her try was converted by Akello. However, the momentum soon turned in favour of the Thunderbirds, whose persistence and pressure paid off through Proscovia Mukyala’s try and Grace Nabaggala’s conversion. With the scores tied at 7 apiece at halftime, the game was for everyone to win.

Just when the tight affair looked like it would go into sudden death, the Nile Rapids produced a moment of magic. As the fulltime hooter blew in the background, the Nile Rapids managed to retain their lineout through, with the ball going to the midfield to find Claire Mutesi, who combined with Shaine Babirye to release Unity Namulala on the wing.

Despite the defensive efforts of Nabaggala, Namulala was simply too fast for the Thunderbirds as she went over for the most important try of the weekend in the women’s category of the Lawii Rwodi 7s. The Nile Rapids now return to the helm of the National 7s as we go into a two-week break before the Kyabazinga 7s.

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After winning the first two National 7s stops and then finishing 6th at the Kyadondo 7s, the Nile Rapids have a point to prove in Gulu.

The Nile Rapids started the 2025 National 7s series on a dark note, entirely missing out on the Coronation 7s, then being represented by a makeshift squad at the Gulu 7s.

When they return to Gulu for the Lawii Rwodi 7s, they are going to be looking like an entirely different side from that team that played last year.

Additionally, the Rapids have welcomed back some of their star players like Prossy Akello and Jemima Namukose, who were away at the East Africa Schools’ games with Jinja SSS in Tanzania.

The Rapids find themselves in Pool B alongside the She Wolves, Ewes and Black Pearls, sides that they have eased past in the first two stops of the 2026 National 7s.

The Rapids missed the services of Shaine Josephine Babirye at the Kyadondo 7s, but she has been named for the Lawii Rwodi 7s, despite still being an injury doubt. It is expected that Fatuma Kirabo will take on the scrumhalf role as Babirye’s minutes are managed, while Halima Likambo will be on the bench to deputise the two aforementioned starters.

In Pool A, it is a clash of giants as the Thunderbirds, who are clear favourites to top the group, will have the Avengers, Walukuba Titans and Mbale Eagles to deal with.

The Avengers and Titans will have to fight for second place when they face off in the first women’s group game of Pool A on Saturday. The Mbale Eagles have been a one-woman show, as Mastula Namboozo has been tasked with carrying the newly promoted side across the line.

The Women’s pool games shall be played across two days as the action in Gulu will kick off at 10:30 a.m. instead of the usual 8:00 a.m. due to the national cleaning day.

Women’s Pools:

• Pool A – Thunderbirds, Avengers, Walukuba Titans, Mbale Eagles
• Pool B – She Wolves, Ewes, Nile Rapids, Black Pearls

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