URN.The teams that were supposed to arrive on April 20 and 21 to acclimatize before taking part in the tournament, were forced to adjust their preparation plans.
Foreign teams taking part in the Africa Rugby Sevens tournament were disrupted by the temporary closure of Entebbe International Airport.
On Wednesday, the main runway at Entebbe International Airport was temporarily shut down after a RwandAir Aircraft Bombardier CRJ900 flight number WB464 skidded off the main runway upon landing at Entebbe International Airport. Preliminary reports show that the incident was due to bad weather.
The teams that were supposed to arrive on April 20 and 21 to acclimatize to the conditions before taking part in the tournament, were forced to adjust their preparation plans.
Speaking to Uganda Radio Network, Michello Sheldni, the team manager of the Zambia Rugby Sevens said they were delayed by one day. Sheldni explained that they were supposed to come to Uganda on Wednesday and have a two-day acclimatization period before their game but they were forced to spend a day in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The team finally arrived on Thursday evening and they had a one-day training session at Kings Park Arena in Bweyogerere.
Sheldni further explained that they had planned to have an extensive training session but the changes in the time of their arrival forced them to adjust their training program to one hour and spent the rest of the time in recovery sessions.
Sheldni says that despite the delays, the technical team is trying hard to improve the fitness levels of the players.
“We are trying their best to have the team in a good shape and the team has been upbeat and we shall not use the delay as an excuse”
Goufan Gilles, the physical trainer of the Cameroon team says that team was delayed by five hours. He explains that they were forced to have three flights instead of the planned two.
According to Gilles, they were supposed to fly through Kigali to Kampala but after reaching Kigali from Cameroon, they were instead diverted to Nairobi and then to Entebbe.
However, teams including Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal, and Mauritius arrived in the county a week before.
Fourteen African Rugby Giants will compete in the tournament on Saturday at Kyadondo Rugby Grounds as they bid to win the 2022 silverware.
The tournament returns after a two-year sabbatical due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Uganda last hosted and won the tournament in 2017 after defeating opponents Zimbabwe 10-7.
