Two teams, 2013 champions Kololo SS and two time winners Hana Mixed School will not be participating in the first game of the tournament.

The scenes of St Mary’s College Kisubi’s victory last year at the finals of the Schools’ Rugby Premiership were worth every single thrill, for three main reasons; SMACK had defeated Hana Mixed 5-3 in a hotly contested rumble, had won on enemy territory as the final was hosted at Namilyango College, but more importantly, it was a climax to a successful campaign. Fast forward to 2017, and the story goes horribly sour.

As the rugby community was busy gearing up for the return of the annual tournament, at Kololo SS and Hana Mixed School there were different breezes blowing. As of yesterday, Kololo patron Nelson Outeke and Hana’s Mayanja had confirmed that as far as they were concerned, their teams were not participating in the first fixture of the year.

Nelson blamed the National Union of Schools’ Rugby in Uganda (NUSRU) for failing to communicate ‘officially’.

“I had asked the union to send out hard copy letters to the Headteacher, so that he would aptly prepare to facilitate the team. However, none of these letters were received, and instead the fixtures were only sent on Whatsapp” a bitter Nelson told GRIP over the phone.

In a rebuttal to the claim, Valence Bizimana, the current NUSRU chairman told GRIP that actually, information had been sent out to all schools, Kololo SS inclusive.

“We did not send out hard copy letters, but rather emails to all schools, through the patrons. We mutually agreed to use whatsapp for quicker communication and people received information on the group chat, but officially, we went ahead and sent emails” Bizimana said, to clear the air.

Attempts to talk SMACK, who are supposed to host Kololo in Entebbe today, into coming to Kampala to play on neutral ground were futile as SMACK understandably refused because they could not organise an abrupt travel. If this is anything to go by, Kololo will fail to honour the fixture and thus hand SMACK a bonus point win through a walkover. However Nelson is optimistic that a way can be worked out, and if the union listens, his team will participate in the rest of the tournament.

In Nsangi, former finalists Hana Mixed patron cited lack of mental and physical fitness from the boys, having only but returned from holidays. He informed GRIP that he had informed the union and the opponent for today (Makerere College School) that tentatively, Hana Mixed had pulled out of the tournament.

This leaves one group A game between 8-time champions Namilyango College and debutants Light Academy, who both have agreed to honour their fixture and only one in B, between London College of St Lawrence and Kings College Budo.

Kololo’s and Hana’s decisions have left a few eyebrows raised, as questions were posed asking why Kololo, which is in proximity with the union offices would miss this information, while further schools got it and were ready to participate. As of now, only two games are confirmed for this Game week, taking a big bite into the reputation of the tournament.