KAMPALA, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Uganda on Monday named the final 12-man team that will take part in the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament on July 20-23 in San Francisco.
Coach Tolbert Onyango said he has picked the best team after months of intensive training and participation in a series of tournaments.
The Uganda Rugby Cranes will start their campaign against Samoa in the preliminary round on July 21 at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
"I am happy that I have been picked to be part of the team at the World Cup and we are going to work hard to be able to impress in our first World Cup," player Michael Okorach said.
Lawrence Ssebuliba misses out after he broke his arm last month during a 2018 Rugby Africa Gold Cup tie away to Namibia. If Uganda defeat Samoa, the Rugby Cranes will face England in the round of 16.
The men's category will get underway on day one with Kenya facing Tonga in the first game of the preliminary round.
The new format at the World Cup will see the losers in the preliminary round drop to the Bowl competition, while the losers in the round of 16 drop to the Challenge Trophy and the winners move on to the Championship.
Africa's other representative Zimbabwe will face Wales in the preliminary round. South Africa is among the top ranked teams and automatically qualifies for the round of 16 where they will face either Ireland or Chile. Enditem
