Back in 1971 Blackrock College RFC went on tour to East Africa and played against a number of Ugandan rugby communities. This coming August (14th to 24th) we will embark on the first Irish rugby club tour back to Uganda since 1971. Our tour party will consist of approximately 50 players and supporters.
Our trip is being coordinated by two Irish individuals who have spent 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.
The rugby itinerary of our tour will be hosted by the Ugandan Rugby Union. We play a specially selected 'Kampala XV' that will be a combination of talent from the 8 clubs in the capital city. The match will be televised given the uniqueness of the fixture. The legacy of this marquee fixture will be to forge relationships between the tour party and the Uganda rugby community. We will also take part in an inaugural 7s tournament hosted by the newly founded Kakira Rugby Club outside Jinja. Blackrock College RFC will present a set of jerseys to Kakira RFC to mark the club's launch and will present the cup to the winner of the inaugural tournament. While in Jinja, we will be linked with 6 primary and 2 secondary schools to attend kids training sessions. We will host a specific ‘Blackrock College RFC Kids Rugby Tournament’ in Jinja, inspiring the next generation of African rugby players. There are upwards of 2,000 youth rugby players in this region. Each visitor from Ireland will be tasked with bringing rugby equipment from Ireland to donate to rugby projects, clubs and schools. We envisage that our Club tour will bring upwards of 50 suitcases of sporting equipment that has been donated by various schools and clubs in Ireland. This will enable the game to continue to thrive after we have left.
Like all events of this nature a certain amount of fundraising is required to help offset the various costs involved. We are endeavouring to do this by a lot of the usual activities (raffles, quizzes etc). We are also going to produce a Tour programme which we will bring to distribute both on the tour and at all our home games next year.
You can help us by purchasing advertising space in the programme or by just donating (we will acknowledge in the programme). I have indicated the rates below. Please be assured that all monies given will assist in either the tour costs or the purchase of gear outlined above
· Full page advertisement = € 900
· Half page advertisement= €600
· Quarter page advertisement = €300
· Alternatively, you can donate your own chosen amount.
Please transfer all monies to
Allied Irish Bank, Blackrock, Co Dublin, Ireland
Account Name: Blackrock College RFC
Iban. IE60AIBK93367809021091
Please mark your name /company on transfer and reference Blackrock Uganda trip 2025
This will be a trip of a lifetime for our tour party and especially our younger players. It will live long in their memories knowing that they will have helped contribute to those less fortunate in some small way.
We are fortunate to have gotten so much from our sport and its now a pleasure to try and give some small bit back to those more in need
Thank you again and I hope to hear from you soon
Best regards
John Colclough (0862303279)
Tour Manager

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