By Timothy Okurut
The Uganda Christian University(UCU) Shepherds have finished fourth in the rugby competitions of the Association of Uganda University Sports (AUUS) games that were held in the University’s main pitch today. This is a downside compared to the last edition of the games, where they finished in a medal position at third place.
The Shepherds picked two wins from their five games winning their first and last fixtures against Kyambogo University and Kampala International University (KIU) respectively. They also picked up a draw against Uganda Martyrs University (UCU), Nkozi who ended the tournament in second place.
The team fell down in their third and fourth games where they clashed with Victoria University and Makerere University. The losses notwithstanding, the team witnessed some outstanding performances from Divine Mawanda and Allan Karuhanga who managed to secure tries at different games and intervals.
Victoria University finished first with 16 points, Uganda Martyrs University(UMU) and Makerere University(MUK) both finished with 12 points putting them ahead of the UCU Shepherds, who managed 10 points.
The Shepherds’ coach, Leonard Lubambu, expressed dissatisfaction with the performance, saying that there were games that the team should have won but did not win, pointing to the fixtures against UMU and MUK. He also used the opportunity to request more funds to be channeled towards the game to raise the university’s performance. When you look at the teams that have finished ahead of us, they are scholarship university students, Lubambu said. He pointed to the fact that those other teams have been able to beef up their various squads by attracting talent through scholarships. If they’re doing something that we’re not doing, then we need to put changes on our end.

