Countdown to Uganda!

Photograph provided by Patrick Dowling at Rock Photography.

On Thursday, 49 players and club members embark on the hugely anticipated tour to Uganda, marking Blackrock College RFC's first official Club tour in over 20 years! Our last tour to East Africa was in 1971, which holds very fond memories for all those who were there, and we know this tour will be a special trip of a lifetime for all those involved.

We wish all those attending the trip a wonderful and safe tour. We also look forward to the updates to come on the club's Instagram so we encourage all supporters to follow along for the daily updates: Blackrock College RFC Instagram.

Also, their match against the Ugandan All Stars is on Saturday 16th August will be livestreamed and we will share the link for all to watch and cheer along from Dublin. Details about the match can be found online: Uganda Rugby Stars Named.

A digital copy of the Uganda Tour Program can be downloaded from the Club's website: Uganda Tour Program

Niall Ó Connachtáin, John Colclough and Mick Hearty with some of the donated clothing and gear.

A Word from the Tour Manager:

Back in 1971 a team from Blackrock College RFC set off on an epic tour to East Africa. 50 years later Tony Amoroso, who had been on that team approached Mick Hearty and myself to see if we could arrange a tour to go back. Unfortunately, Covid got in the way, and it has taken a couple more years to bring that tour to realization.

Here we are now, and we are set to depart August 2025. We are bringing a squad of 33 players and 16 management and supporters and for this we thank the Ugandan Rugby Football Union for their invite to tour their country. Our tour will be the first Irish rugby club tour to the Ugandan rugby communities since that 1971 tour.

Our trip is being coordinated by two Irish individuals (Tom Donohoe and Niall Ó Connachtáin) who have spent much time supporting community projects in Uganda through sporting links over the last 10 years. The legacy of our tour will be to foster community development within three main charitable projects:

• Spire School for blind children in Jinja (eastern Uganda)

• We will attend the Irish embassy in Kampala where, with members of the Irish Uganda Society, we will develop links with Hospice Africa Ireland.

• We will visit the Nansana community on the outskirts of Kampala to witness the work of Irish founded and Ugandan based charity Nurture Africa.

Apart from the obvious advantages a tour can bring to a rugby club, the bonus of helping with charitable work was a major factor in deciding to choose Uganda as our destination. It promises to be a trip of a lifetime and one that the players will hopefully celebrate at future reunions. To have got so much from the game of Rugby, it is right and fitting that we can give a small bit back to those less fortunate.

In putting together, a tour like this and the program and the fundraising efforts, an enormous debt of gratitude is due to several people. To Mick Hearty, the players committee, Erin in the office and all are sponsors/donators listed in this program, please accept my heartfelt thanks. To Saidi on the Ugandan side, Niall and Tom in Ireland, thank you for all your help in setting things up for us.

I am hoping that the Tour will be a legacy for future Blackrock teams to follow and that all of us travelling will experience a different culture to remember for the rest of our lives. Remember we are only minding the jersey for the next generation.

I look forward to relating all the stories on our return.

See you then,

John Colclough