The Blackbacks held their first training sessions on Tuesday at their APE Rugunga grounds ahead of this year’s Kyadondo 7s scheduled for May in Kampala, Uganda.

According to Rwanda Rugby Federation officials, the team will have a nine-day training session before meeting the federation top officials to discuss how best the team can be prepared and selected.

The Blackbacks have made two appearances in this tournament; in 2005, they whacked Uganda’s Thunderbirds 80-00 while in 2007, they finished third after a formidable display from their star forward Angelique Nzabanita who was later presented with two accolades; ‘Most Valuable Player’ and ‘top scorer’.

Meanwhile, the rugby federation has also highlighted that the Kyadondo 7s preparations will also count for the inaugural Africa Women’s Cup 7s tournament that runs from August 7-9 in East London, South Africa.

"We are sure the Kyadondo 7s tournament will play a big role in preparing our girls," the federation’s first Vice President Araire Alex stated.

On top of being a stepping stone for the 2009 IRB 7s World Cup, the federation president Alexis Kamanzi also concurs that it would be a high profile event on the sporting calendar of any country.

"This is a must-attend tournament for our girls and we (federation) plan to do everything possible to make sure we field a formidable team.

"We want to send a team that is not only going to participate but to compete," Kamanzi acknowledged.

Ends