Source:
https://scmp.com/sport/rugby/article/1744135/rwandans-east-africa-team-overcome-hardship-fulfil-hkfc-tens-dream
Sport/ Rugby

Rwandans overcome hardship to fulfil Tens dream in East Africa team

The forwards practise their scrummaging for the GFI HKFC Tens with the help of Dave Hughes. Photos: SCMP Pictures

The modern facilities at Hong Kong Football Club are a world away from downtown Kigali in Rwanda for the diehard GFI East Africans team taking part in the GFI HKFC Tens – in distance and in luxury.

The squad of Rwandan, Ugandan and Kenyan players are more used to dodging potholes, rubbish and ant hills in their schoolyard training ground.

The conditions you just would not believe, but the boys don’t worry about, they just get on with it Dave Hughes, assistant coach

It is an achievement in itself that they are able to be in Hong Kong to take on some of the best tens teams in the world this week, says assistant coach Dave Hughes.

"We've got nothing. We train in downtown Kigali on a soccer pitch, which is actually owned by a school," says Hughes. "It's terrible. It's got huge holes in it, ant's nests, and it's has rubbish and litter all over it.

"The conditions you just would not believe, but the boys don't worry about, they just get on with it."

Rwandan players make up the bulk of the East African squad, with a few Ugandans and a trio of Kenyan sevens representatives adding depth.

The team have already lived through strife and economic hardship, and facing the Tana Umaga-coached BGC Asia Pacific Dragons - the winners of the trophy last year - in the first match of the tournament will be the least of their concerns.

"The conditions we play in are challenging," says Hughes.

"There's no showers or any medical equipment. So for them to come out here, to play at Kowloon or at the Football Club, to have a hot shower and get a decent meal, and go to a prize-giving is what it's all about."

The squad is made up of Rwandans, Ugandans and Kenyans.
The squad is made up of Rwandans, Ugandans and Kenyans.
In establishing a college in Rwanda, the Akilah Institute for Women, Hughes spotted a group of boys throwing around a ball on the streets of Kigali. It wasn't theirs, but their passion was evident and Hughes decided to coach them.

He has since been intimately involved in rugby in the region and started bringing touring sides to Hong Kong in 2010.

But this year's set-up is different. The Silverbacks, as the Rwandans are known, will be boosted by Kenyans and some physicality from the Ugandans in key positions.

"It'll be great for them to play alongside three Kenyan guys with world rugby experience," says Hughes. "It'll be wonderful for the Rwandans and the Ugandans to rub shoulders with them.

"Individually, we've got some great athletes but this is a really high-standard tournament. We are coming in to learn from it, to see what we can gain. If we can score some great tries, and the crowd gets behind us, you never know what might happen.

"A lot of them don't have jobs and rugby is their life. It's where they get their camaraderie and make their friendships."

Another ace in their corner is former United States sevens coach John McKittrick, who Hughes says has been instrumental in helping the players raise the level of their game.

The East Africans are drawn in pool A at the 30th edition of the Tens, alongside a Dragons team boasting Tongan national captain Nili Latu, Manu Samoa fly half Tusi Pisi and Fijian sevens players Sainivalati Ramuwai and Waisea Nacuqu.

The competition will see 16 teams competing in four round-robin pools on day one before progressing to Cup, Plate, Bowl, and Shield competitions.