Kenya and Uganda who have been drawn in Pool A of this year’s Rugby Africa Sevens tournament named their teams ahead of the event to be played on Saturday, June 21-22 at the Labourdonnais Sports Club, Mauritius.

Louis Kisia, the national seven-a-side assistant coach will be in the driver’s seat against another Kenyan Tolbert Onyango who is in charge of the Uganda team. While Onyango made only one change to the team that lifted the trophy last year, Kisia has included four debutants Matoka Matoka, Philip Okeyo, Javan Otieno, and Felix Okoth. 

The team will be captained by George Ooro and assisted by Chrisant Ojwang who is returning after recovering from a leg injury sustained last year in Dubai. Kisia made no secret of Kenya’s ambitions for a podium finish after a sixth place last year.

Finished Sixth

Morans finished sixth in 2024 and were champions in 2023 when they defied all odds to beat South Africa and qualify for the 2024 Olympics.

This is the form that Kisia hopes Morans will replicate in Mauritius. The first match is against a tricky Ivory Coast side before tackling Ghana and Uganda in a derby. Although Morans comprises a wider squad and misses several key players who are recharging after a taxing World Rugby Sevens World Series, Kisia is upbeat and has regular captain George Ooro available.

Uganda have had to share their player resources between the 7s and 15s teams. Onyango explained that the Uganda Rugby Union made a bold decision to strengthen the 15s team with notable players from the seven-a-side squad. The deliberate decision would give hosts Uganda a fighting chance in next month’s Africa Cup which is also a Rugby World Cup qualifier.

Regional Tournaments

The regional tournament is crucial to the development of the shorter version of the game in Africa and other regions after World Rugby surprisingly reduced the number of participating teams in the World Rugby Sevens World Series from 12 to eight for the 2025/2026 season.

Potentially, Africa has the capability of establishing a competitive circuit as a result of various existing tournaments such as Lusaka Sevens, Victoria Falls Sevens, Safari Sevens, Mauritius Sevens, Morocco and Tunisia Sevens.

Talks of establishing such a circuit has been on the drawing boards for a number of years now and could materialize under the leadership of Herbert Mensah, the current Rugby Africa president. 

Clarion Call

It is not clear if such talks will be on the table in Mauritius despite a clarion call by most Africa Rugby Unions to explore the possibility. One of the Uganda Rugby Union officials said the move was overdue and there is need to move with speed especially after World Rugby discontinued Rugby World Cup Sevens and the shorter version of the game was axed from the Commonwealth Games. 

Ideally an Africa Sevens Circuit could have two tournaments in East (Kenya and Uganda), Central (Zimbabwe and Zambia), West (Ghana/Ivory Coast/Nigeria) and North Africa (Morocco and Tunisia) with a possibility of two tournaments in the Islands of Madagascar and Mauritius.

The format could also revert to the 16-team events to include more teams and provide the much needed competitive atmosphere as well as regular competitions.

The tournament in Mauritius will have 12 teams this year.

Teams

Kenya Morans: George Ooro, Dennis Abukuse, William Mwanji, Brian Mutua, Felix Okoth, Lamech Ambetsa, Jackson Siketi, Philip Okeyo, Chrisant Ojwang, Floyd Wabwire, Javan Otieno, Matoka Matoka.

Uganda: Alex Aturinda (captain), Norbert Okeny (assistant captain), Kasim Arinaitwe, Aaron Tukei, Mark Osuna, Mubarak Wandera. Alan Olango, Roy Kizito, Arnold Ocen, Jones Kamiza, Daniel Okello, Denis Etwau.

Officials: Tolbert Onyango (coach), Allan Otim (strength and conditioning), Samuel Rwakijuma (physiotherapist), Michael Wandera (team manager).

Nigeria: Isa Omale, Matthew Ilubee, Koyade Adedoyin, Gabriel John Etim, Joshua Addams, Oliver Kitto (captain), Anthony Egodo Tuoyo, Oghenesuvwe Obano, Frederick Henry-Ajudua, Richard Adeniyi Jones, Declan Nwachukwu, Akeem Yusuf.

Mauritius Sevens

June 21-22, 2025

Draw and fixtures

Pool A: Uganda, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Ghana

Pool B: South Africa, Burkina Faso, Zambia

Pool C: Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Tunisia.

Order of play

Zimbabwe v Tunisia, Madagascar v Mauritius, Burkina Faso v Zambia, South Africa v Nigeria, Kenya v Ivory Coast, Uganda v Ghana, Zimbabwe v Mauritius, Madagascar v Tunisia, Burkina Faso v Nigeria, South Africa v Zambia, Kenya v Ghana, Uganda v Ivory Coast, Madagascar v Zimbabwe, Zambia v Nigeria, South Africa v Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast v Ghana, Uganda v Kenya, Tunisia v Mauritius.