Vienna Sports Series: Rugby - Discipline, Chaos, and Camaraderie

 Rugby at Vienna: Discipline, Chaos, and Camaraderie

By Kevin Kwesiga (Class of 2016)

Rugby found me in Vienna not by accident. My parents had been deliberate: a school that could nurture both mind and body, academics and athletics. Vienna had a reputation for striking that balance, and I, like many adolescents, was eager to believe I could excel at both.

But it wasn’t the school or the sport that drew me in. It was the players. A motley assembly of personalities, some serious, some chaotic, bound by a shared obsession: to win. To dominate the Central Uganda Rugby Union league. There was an energy there, a belief that anything was possible, and it pulled me in like gravity.

The rugby culture at Vienna had quieted before our arrival, yet the bones remained: discipline, loyalty, and an almost familial sense of responsibility. From the youngest Year 8s to the seniors in Year 13, we pushed each other, corrected each other, and refused to let each other slip. And then there were the supporters: the footballers, more celebrated and better known, who would show up to cheer for us anyway. Their energy gave the field a different kind of electricity; it transformed the matches into something bigger than ourselves.

Two moments remain seared in memory. One: five of us (Shaun, Dixon, Carlos,Turiho and I) were called to train with the U19 national team, and I made the final squad. The other: returning to the Central Uganda Schools Rugby 7s after a long absence and finishing as first runners-up. The first was personal, a quiet, surreal thrill. The second was communal, the satisfaction of being part of something larger, something enduring.

Training itself had a rhythm. Off-season: strength and conditioning on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays; rugby drills the other days. In season, conditioning shrank to once or twice a week, while rugby took center stage. Those hours were more than physical preparation; they shaped character, patience, and commitment.

Rugby shaped me beyond the field. Its core values discipline, respect, teamwork, integrity, passion became lenses through which I approached life. Captaincy intensified those lessons. Commitment to the task at hand, responsibility for guiding others, humility in learning these were not abstract ideals but lived experiences, pressed into muscle memory through months of practice and games.

Team bonding was organic and sometimes absurd. Touch rugby in the early mornings, watching matches together in the TV room, chanting “Forever Strong Amen” until voices cracked. The team was, in the truest sense, a small republic of personalities. Seniors like Dixon Kitimoi, Khalifa Kadhi and Econi Arthur brought both electric energy and grounding humor. Juniors like Prosper Ssenyonga, Adrian Muge and Ejiofor never seemed intimidated by size, always stepping up with flashes of brilliance.

My journey in rugby began earlier, at Ntare School and then Makerere College School. But at Vienna, it matured not in a single revelatory moment, but as a series of small awakenings, inspired by those who came before, driven by a desire to push further.

I remember the day I made the U19 final squad vividly. Announced at Kyadondo Rugby Grounds by coach Dennis Etuket and national captain Brian Odongo, it was surreal, almost too large to comprehend. Celebration was brief; camp preparation for the Africa Cup began immediately.

Returning to school after national representation changed my perspective. Respect for the sport deepened, as did a sense of responsibility to share knowledge with teammates, to ensure the continuity of growth and progress.

Friendships from those days endure. Bonds forged in tackles, sprints, and shared triumphs are so strong that, years later, one teammate’s child now counts a lineup of “uncles” forged entirely through rugby. Alumni games, incoming-versus-outgoing matches were always heated, moments when the crowd, especially the footballers cheering, could turn the tide of energy on the field.

Rugby at Vienna was more than a game. It was a crucible for character, a space for chaos and discipline, mentorship and laughter, victory and learning. It was a community, in its rawest, most vibrant form, and in that sense, it was as much a lesson in life as it was a sport.