Rwanda Rugby Federation Half-Yearly Newsletter: October 2023 to March 2024 Issue
Chap1. General Assembly 2022/2023.
Chap2. RRF Met British high commissioner.
Chap 3: International Women’s Day celebration 2024.
Chap4. Tag Rugby tournaments.
Chap5.Veterans Friendly Match.
Chap6. National League 2024.
Chap 7. Get into Rugby 2.0
Chap8. T1 Rugby Introduction in Rwanda.
Chap1. Rwanda Rugby Federation General Assembly 2022/2023.
It was a privilege to have the guests of honour including Rugby Africa Representative Mrs.Paula Nzisa Lanco and RNOSC representative second vice president Mrs.Umutoni Salama.
In this General Assembly both Financial report 2022-2023- and 4-year activity report were presented by Executive committee then afterward the Chief Administrator presented the Action plan 2024-2025 So, the following resolutions were taken:
Resolution 1: The General Assembly decided that the audit will be being conducted half yearly (Partial financial audit in July and Annual financial audit in January.
Resolution 2:
After a careful review and incorporating suggestions given ,the General Assembly approved the Action Plan for 2024-2025.
Resolution3: Following a careful review of the membership request letter and other required documents and with agreement from all 10 members, Rwamagana Hippos RFC has been officially admitted as a member of the Rwanda Rugby Federation.
Resolution 4:After a comprehensive explanation and review of the Anti-Doping article, 100% of the members agreed with its provisions. So,the General Assembly approved the Anti-Doping article, thereby endorsing the amendment of the Federation’s statute to include the Anti-Doping provision.
Resolution 5: In complete agreement by all 11 members, the General Assembly approved the resignation of Dispute Resolution Body Vice President Ignace NSAZIMANA. It was further decided to promptly replace him with Albert Kayiranga.
Resolution 6: Prior to the election, the General Assembly took note of the communicated absence of the President of the Dispute Resolution Body, Thadee ABIZEYIMANA. In response, the Executive Committee (EXCO) delegated the responsibilities to Albert Kayiranga. After thorough discussion, the General Assembly sanctioned his role as the Election Commission President, acting on behalf of the usual President of the Dispute Resolution Body.
Resolution 7: In light of the unexpected resignation of UWAMAHORO Pauline, which resulted in an immediate lack of gender balance in the Executive Committee, potentially hindering the election process, the General Assembly (unanimously agreed upon 11/11) decided to proceed with the election as planned. The General Assembly requested that the newly elected Executive Committee appoint two women advisors who would actively participate in the Executive Committee. Consequently, the Statute will be updated to reflect the inclusion of advisors as part of the Executive Committee.
Resolution 8 : The General Assembly concluded with a resolution underscoring the need to focus attention on an existing regulation. According to this regulation, only clubs with valid membership status should be eligible to participate in federation activities and competitions.
Resolution 9: underscores the importance of women in development and developing players’ and officials’ pathways through the formulation and implementation of effective policies and practices. Mrs. Lanco’s speech encourages a proactive approach in this regard, as well as training media people to develop awareness of the game among all people.
Resolution 10: With reference to Resolution 7, the Executive Committee (EXCO) held a meeting after a few days and subsequently appointed the following advisors: Aline GASARABWE and Eulide UBAZIMANA to be a part of Executive committee.
The newly elected committee that will lead for the upcoming four 4 years.
| Elected committee | ||||
| Name | Club of Origin | Voter turnout/Results | ||
| Fraction
|
Percentage
|
|||
| Tharcisse Kamanda | Puma RFC | 10/11 | 90.9% | President
|
| Philip Gakirage | Kigali Sharks RFC | 11/1 | 100% | Vice President |
| John Muhire Livingstone | Muhanga Thunders RFC | 11/11 | 100% | Secretary |
| Yves Ishimwe | Resilience RFC | 11/11 | 100% | Treasurer |
| Laurien Hakizimana | Muhanga Thunders RFC | 11/11 | 100% | Auditor |
| Jean Claude Mudaheranwa | Kigali Sharks RFC | 11/11 | 100% | Auditor |
| GASARABWE Aline | Kigali Sharks | Nominated according to the Resolution 7 | Advisor | |
| Eulide UBAZIMANA | UR Rukara campus | Advisor | ||
Chap2. Met British high commissioner on 17th February 2024.
on 17th February 2024 Rwanda Rugby Federation was lucky to meet with British High Commissioner Omar Daair OBE at the Tag for Teachers Program’s (TFT) workshop which took place at Saint Joseph Kicukiro and it was the opportunity to discuss potential opportunities and 
the way forward for future prospects of Rugby in Rwanda and there is hope to proceed furthermore.
Chap 3: International Women’s Day celebration.
Rwanda Rugby Women were very happy to celebrating International Women’s day on 8th March 2024 recognizing the role of women and girls in Rwanda’s development for 30 years ago. So, a group of Rugby women participated and presented Rwanda Rugby Federation in the celebration at the national level which took place at BK Arena. and this is a meaningful day and its message is everyone’s concern as investing in women is crucial for accelerating the holistic development, healthy women lead to healthy family and healthy family lead to healthy nation then healthy nation lead to healthy World.
Chap4. Tag Rugby tournaments.
In partnership with FoRR, commencing in 2024, 61 teams from various schools located in Kigali, Ruhango, Burera, and Karongi, consisting of both girls and boys, participated in a tag rugby tournament organized by the Regional Development Officers (RDOs) of Friends of Rwandan Rugby.
Chap 5: Friendly Match between Rwanda Rugby Veterans and Ntare Rugby Veterans from Ntare School Alumni group Representing Uganda.
The match took place on March 9, 2024, with the primary objective of improving social interaction and share the joy of Rugby. The proposal arose from the Ntare Lions League Grand Final, scheduled to be hosted in Kigali.
The match proved to be both amazing and memorable, and the Rwanda Rugby Veterans emerged victorious with a score of 23 to 12 over the Ntare Rugby Veterans.
Chap6. National League 2024.
Rwanda Rugby national league 2024 for men was started on 23rd March 2024 and women on 31st March 2024. The national league is being played by 8 men’s teams in two groups A and B then the format is Single round robin in group stages then after group stages two teams will be qualified to play for position one and 3 where winner 2 from A will play against winner 2 from B to have the 3rd position while Winner 1 from A will play against Winner 1 from B to get Championship. So, the fixtures are as follows:
Chap 7. Upcoming Get into Rugby 2.0 program implementation.
Rwanda Rugby Federation has successful applied for GIR 2.0 program’s grant from World Rugby. The program implementation is intended to bring a lot of impact by increasing the number of Participants, Number of Teams then the number of Active Players.
The program implementation is as follows:
The Rwanda Rugby Union will strategically select 10 schools, prioritizing those with strong infrastructure and committed leadership, to establish partnerships aimed at mobilizing and training a diverse cohort of 1,000 students, with a minimum of 40% being female. Seasoned coaches and former national team players will lead weekend training sessions, fostering skills development and collaboration among schools, while ongoing support from the federation ensures the sustainability of teams and player pathways, ultimately enhancing participation and active engagement in rugby across Rwanda.
Chap8. T1 Rugby Introduction in Rwanda.
T1 Rugby had been launched by World Rugby in 2023 and it is being introduced in Rwanda soon. Rwanda Rugby Federation in partnership with both Friends of Rwandan Rugby and World Rugby we are implementing the project of T1 Rugby introduction in Rwanda.
T1 Rugby is the first non-contact sport that fully reflects the unique characteristics of rugby, including scrums, lineouts and breakdown to supercharge participation and engagement by making the sport more relevant and accessible to young people. with an emphasis on fun, fitness, inclusion and time optimization, T1 Rugby is a game for everyone, played by anyone,T1 Rugby to be rolled out globally by World Rugby, regional associations and member unions.