The Elgon Cup is contested between the rugby union teams of Kenya and Uganda. The men's and women's teams of these countries each compete annually for their respective cups on a Home-and-Away basis. The competition and the cups are named after Mount Elgon, a mountain on the border of the two countries.
The men's competition started in 2004 while the women's Elgon Cup followed it a few years later, starting in 2006. The Elgon cup has now been subsumed into the recently instituted Victoria Cup; just as the Bledisloe Cup (Australia and New Zealand), Freedom Cup (New Zealand and South Africa) and Mandela Challenge Plate (Australia and South Africa) have been subsumed into the Tri Nations and as the Calcutta Cup (England and Scotland) is now part of the Six Nations.
Home matches for Kenya are usually played at the RFUEA Ground, Nairobi, Kenya, whilst Uganda usually play their home matches at the Kyadondo Grounds, Kampala, Uganda. The women's games generally serve as a curtain raiser to the men's games.
History
Earliest encounters
Kenya and Uganda have a long history of rugby matches going back even before the first official match in 1958. Prior to the formation of the Rugby Football Union of Kenya (RFUK) in 1921 and the Uganda Rugby Football Union (URFU) in 1955, these two territories put out representative sides though, without a governing union, they could not award caps. Games were frequently played in the early days by representative sides from Kenya and Uganda (and also Tanganyika) against each other and against touring sides most notably from Royal Naval vessels and British and South African Universities (the University of Stellenbosch, University of Cape Town, Rhodes University and the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge).
The very first match between Kenya and Uganda involved an incident that may well be unique in international rugby history. In the early 1930s there was only one rugby club in Uganda (the Uganda RFC, later to become "Uganda Kobs RFC" and then "Kampala Kobs RFC") and a number of Ugandan players (including Percy Minns) persuaded the Kenya clubs to send a Kenya XV to play against them in Entebbe. Unfortunately, both teams arrived with a set of white jerseys. According to long established tradition in rugby, it is the duty of the home side to change shirts in the event of a clash; about 10 miles from the clubhouse in Kampala, Uganda resorted to dying their shirts in the water-bucket on the sideline using the iodine from the medical kit. The shirts were worn wet and, according to contemporary reports, the spectators and referee had greater and greater difficulty telling the sides apart as the game progressed. Rugby is a game rooted deeply in tradition and, as a result of this incident, Ugandan representative sides wore black shirts for almost 100 years in memory of this incident. It is only recently that they have started wearing shirts that include red and orange, the other two colours present in the Ugandan flag, though the predominant colour still tends to be black.
The first official matches The three African Great Lakes countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have a long shared history of rugby. For much of their history, they have relied on each other for club, inter-district, inter-territorial and international matches, as well as combining their resources to create a regional squad. This has all been aided by their membership in the Rugby Football Union of East Africa (RFUEA), an umbrella union for the three nations both before and after they each achieved independence in the early 1960s. Until independence, each was regarded as a colonial possession of the British Empire rather than an independent nation.
The first interterritorial match for Kenya took place in 1954 at Arusha against Tanganyika (as Tanzania was known at the time). It was held shortly before the First Tuskers Copperbelt tour later that year and served as a selection trial for the tour. This match was won by Kenya though the exact score is not known. This fixture was repeated in 1955 and 1956. With the URFU having recently been formed, it was decided to attempt a three-way competition in 1957; Uganda were to travel play Tanganyika in Arusha and Kenya were to visit Uganda in Kampala. Uganda, who were chiefly responsible for the initiative, fulfilled their commitment though the score or winner is not known. Kenya were unable to travel to play Uganda as organised due to commitments raised by the Combined Oxford and Cambridge Universities tour that year.
The first official match between Uganda and Kenya took place in 1958, when Kenya (then Kenya Colony) travelled to play Uganda (then Uganda Protectorate) in Kampala. Kenya beat Uganda by three goals and two tries to one goal, one penalty goal and one try. In 1958, a try was worth three points, so the final score was 11 – 21.
Team Lists UGANDA Player Club FB 15 P.F.H. Williams Kampala RFC RW 14 N.B. Hooper Kampala RFC OC 13 M. Forster Kampala RFC IC 12 E.R. McKay Nile RFC LW 11 J. Henderson Nile RFC FH 10 J. O'Neill Kampala RFC SH 9 A. Knott Kampala RFC LP 1 A.P. Constable Uganda Police RFC HK 2 R. Yeates Uganda Police RFC TP 3 B.S. Bennie Kampala RFC LL 4 C.A.G. Hogg Uganda Police RFC RL 5 G. Williams Kampala RFC BF 6 H. Klynsmith Kampala RFC OF 7 I.J. Pook Elgon RFC N8 8 S. Golledge Nile RFC KENYA Player Club FB 15 G.D. Brown Impala RFC RW 14 B. Granville-Ross Nondescripts RFC OC 13 D.F. Rees Kenya Harlequins IC 12 G.P. Meintjes Eldoret RFC LW 11 W.R. Millar Nakuru RFC FH 10 D. Opie Nakuru RFC SH 9 W. Law Nakuru RFC LP 1 L. Tucker Nakuru RFC HK 2 R. Pollastri Nakuru RFC TP 3 B. Hatfield Kitale RFC LL 4 K.V. Oulton Nakuru RFC RL 5 D.S. Reynolds Nakuru RFC BF 6 D. Kennedy Nakuru RFC OF 7 E. Evans Kericho RFC N8 8 S. Luow Impala RFC
Post Colonial Rugby
Kenya's relatively smooth transition to independence and trouble free ensuing years under President Jomo Kenyatta saw rugby continue to thrive in this country. Despite the fact that Idi Amin was a keen rugby player himself, the expulsion of expatriates from - and the general political instability in - Uganda under his reign disrupted the playing of domestic and international fixtures in Uganda. As a result, Kenya have generally had the upper-hand in this East African derby. However, in recent years the success of the Kenya 7's team has had a negative effect on the 15-a-side game as resources and focus has shifted toward the shortened version of the game. This and the recent resurgence in the Ugandan rugby club scene has seen the balance of power shift westwards.
Victoria Cup The most recent innovation has been the Victoria Cup. This is slated to be an annual three-way competition between Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe played on a home-and-away basis. Rather than duplicate the fixture it has been decided that the pre-existing Elgon Cup games between Kenya and Uganda will take place within this new tournament. The Victoria Cup was first played in June and July 2010.
Matches between Kenya and Uganda with Elgon Cup winners Results for men's and women's international rugby matches played between Kenya and Uganda are presented in the table below.
Results MEN Year Date Home Score AwayElgon Cup Winner 2024 16 Nov Uganda 5–21 Kenya Won by 2024 9 Nov Kenya 27–25 Uganda 2023 11 Nov Kenya 20–13 Uganda Won by 2023 9 Nov Uganda 21–20 Kenya 2020–2022: Edition was not held 2019 13 July Uganda 5–16 Kenya Won by 2019 22 Jun Kenya 13–16 Uganda 2018 7 Jun Kenya 38–22 UgandaWon by 2018 26 May Uganda 16–34 Kenya 2017 24 Jun Kenya 33–33 UgandaWon by 2017 10 Jun Uganda 15–23 Kenya 2016 30 Jul Kenya 45–24 UgandaWon by 2016 4 Jun Uganda 10–48 Kenya2014–2015: Edition was not held 2013 10 Jul Uganda 11–51 Kenya Non-ElgonCupmatch. 2013 22 Jun Uganda 13–19 KenyaWon on aggregate by 2013 15 Jun Kenya 16–17 Uganda 2012 10 Jul Kenya 19–20 Uganda Non-ElgonCupmatch. 2012 28 Apr Kenya 12–0 UgandaWon on aggregate by 2012 21 Apr Uganda 19–5 Kenya 2011 16 Jul Uganda 32–18 KenyaWon on aggregate by 2011 9 Jul Kenya 27–10 Uganda 2010 10 Jul Kenya 21–5 UgandaWon on aggregate by 2010 3 Jul Uganda 25–33 Kenya 2009 29 Aug Uganda 18–13 KenyaWon on aggregate by Daily Nation, August 29, 2009: Kenya win Elgon Cup despite loss to Uganda in Kampala 2009 15 Aug Kenya 30–22 Uganda 2008 16 Aug Kenya 39–20 UgandaWon on aggregate by 2008 24 May Uganda 20–3 Kenya 2007 26 Sep Uganda 24–12 KenyaNon-ElgonCupmatch. 2007 11 Aug Kenya 35–15 UgandaWon on aggregate by 2007 26 May Uganda 29–10 Kenya 2006 12 Aug Kenya 20–22 UgandaWon on aggregate by 2006 13 May Uganda 7–7 Kenya 2005 Edition cancelled – World Cup qualifiers took precedence. 2005 25 Jun Uganda 5–8 Kenya 2004 31 Jul Kenya 18–8 Uganda 2003 14 Jun Uganda 21–22 Kenya 2002 5 Oct Kenya 22–31 Uganda 2002 21 Jul Uganda 8–12 Kenya 2001 29 Sep Kenya 44–17 Uganda 2001 28 Jul Kenya 12–9 Uganda 2000 – 1999 – 1998 – 1997 – 1997 23 Aug Kenya 65–8 Uganda 1996 – 1995 – – 1958 24 May Uganda 11–21 Kenya WOMEN Year Date Home Score AwayElgon Cup Winner 2023 11 Nov Kenya 87–3 UgandaWon by 2020-2022 Edition was not held 2019 13 Jul Uganda 5–35 KenyaWon by 2019 22 Jun Kenya 44–13 Uganda 2016-2018 Edition was not held 2015 20 Jun Uganda 6–7 KenyaWon by 2015 13 Jun Kenya 5–5 Uganda 2014 19 Jul Kenya 39–10 UgandaWon by 2014 12 Jul Uganda 15–33 Kenya 2013 22 Jun Uganda 13–8 KenyaWon by 2013 15 Jun Kenya 18–17 Uganda 2012 28 April Kenya 15–3 UgandaWon by 2012 21 April Uganda 15–6 Kenya 2011 16 Jul Uganda 29–10 KenyaWon on aggregate by 2011 9 Jul Kenya 22–10 Uganda 2010 10 Jul Kenya 16–8 UgandaWon on aggregate by 2010 3 Jul Uganda 8–5 Kenya 2010 22 May Uganda 0–10 KenyaNon-ElgonCupmatch. 2010 22 May Kenya 8–0 UgandaNon-ElgonCupmatch. 2009 29 Aug Uganda 12–5 KenyaWon on aggregate by 2009 15 Aug Kenya 38–5 Uganda 2008 16 Aug Kenya 15–13 UgandaShared, retained by 2008 24 May Uganda 18–17 Kenya 2007 Tournament cancelled 2006 12 Aug Kenya 0–3 UgandaFirst won by 2006 13 May Uganda 24–0 Kenya 2005 – 2004 – 2003 – 2002 – 2001 – 2000 – 1999 – 1998 – 1997 – 1996 – 1995 –
Notes
a. The RFUK was dissolved in 1953 with the formation of the Rugby Football Union of East Africa (RFUEA); the current Kenya Rugby Football Union (KRFU) was not formed until 1970.
References
External links Report on 2007 Elgon Cup Report on women's 2008 Elgon Cup first leg