Wanyama is that small dog with a ferocious bark and bite

But first, let me take you a little bit back to my childhood. 

"Man bites dog""

"I grew up as part of a very naughty gang of youngsters. We indulged in many mischiefs but one stands out. Our colleague, Kato, had two fierce dogs. The big one, Simba, and Tiger, small in build, and usually hated being around people. 
I used to fear Simba because of its size.

Saddam, the "mad boy" in our group, once told me that big dogs are "cowards" and Kato overheard him. So they went into an argument and Saddam dared Kato to set Simba up against him, for a fight. 

"If Simba bites me, I will give you 10,000 and if I bite him, you will give me 10,000," said Saddam. Ten thousand shillings was a lot of money back in 1999.

Our group of about six boys went into organizing the "man vs dog" match and venue. We settled for a forest and Kato brought Simba. Saddam took position and us, the cowards, climbed trees to watch. 

Kato released Simba and we couldn't believe our eyes; seeing it run in an attack mode towards Saddam. As it approached him, he expertly ducked a few inches from its path and in a microsecond, grabbed it and planted his teeth into its shoulder. 

The dog wailed and fled. Saddam became a hero within our group. Simon, our "treasurer", handed the money to the winner (Saddam).

We went to the nearby shops and bought pancakes to celebrate the win. In the end, Saddam told us that if Kato had brought Tiger, the small dog, he wouldn't have stood a chance.

"Small dogs are very fierce and dangerous because they are agile and have a very big heart," said Saddam. 

This is a story that I've told people countless times and they take it for fiction. Some have come to believe it only after calling some of the guys I grew up with; who actually witnessed it. 

At university, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda (current Kira Municipality MP), used to stand before us and say: "When a dog bites a man, it's not news. It is news if a man bites a dog..."

From Saddam's heroics and explanations, my respect for small dogs shot through the roof. An Wanyama is that small dog.

Back to Wanyama 

If you have followed Ugandan rugby for some time now, you have seen that small "dog" called Wanyama. Always on his toes, walks with a swagger of a teenager and his eyes show fearlessness in the eyes of his physically imposing opponents. 

A few years ago, Wanyama and I used to live in Seeta. People around the area used to see this small man walking with a spring bounce, chest puffed upfront and shoulders widened than a male turkey's. 

He is not an attention seeker but you can't help but throw a second glance if he walked past you. So one day, I passed by King's Park to watch Rugby Cranes training and afterwards, offered him a lift to Seeta on my bike. 

Unbeknownst to me, people (mechanics, shopkeepers and bystanders) had seen me dropping him. They flooded me with questions about him and I told them he is a rugby player.

Many couldn't believe how such a small man could endanger himself playing that "dangerous and rough" sport. Until they watched him on TV during the recently concluded Rugby Africa tournament at Namboole.

Life of hard knocks

Wanyama's fearlessness probably goes back to his days at St. Savio Primary School, Kisubi. Wanyama was a footballer but well, in Kisubi, rugby rules.

Before the building of a "Berlin wall" to separate them from St. Mary's College, Kisubi (SMACK), Wanyama and pals used to peep across and see SMACK boys smacking the daylights out of themselves in rugby.

The young boys copied and pasted, but without any knowledge of rules. "You had to jump into the air and kick your friend and if he fell down, you picked the ball and ran away and land into your own share of kicks and punches from opponents.

"Some 'tackles' were really hard and left guys unconscious. From the bruises and pain, we would spend weeks without playing but the moment you felt better you'd go back to the same routine, so maybe that shaped me into the hard man I am today," says Wanyama. 

Joining Namilyango College in 2009 meant he had to quit football altogether. Rugby became the norm; the way of life. 

And with it came the real small beast in Wanyama. 

Small bully 

There is a popular belief that big men are emotionally and mentally soft. And scrumhalfs, cunning as they are, seem to ride on this. 
Nigel Owens, the most famous referee in Test Rugby history, once remarked that those small men are the most difficult to ref. 

"They are annoyingly talkative; a very chirpy lot. They are always in your ear and eyes, looking for every bit of loophole and you must be at your best at all times," he told the Planet Rugby podcast in 2020.

Wanyama fits exactly that. And he sums it in the best way possible; "I think naturally it's a short man syndrome. Maybe some of us want to compensate for what we lack in the physical frame," he laughs.

In 2022, while playing for Uganda against Kenya in France, there was a viral video of Wanyama singling out a huge Kenyan second row. He moved straight to him, shoved him and a melee broke out. That way, most small men have already achieved their goal.

"Rugby is both mental and physical. Sometimes you are not at your best and you want to unsettle the opponent. So, you look out for those moments and pounce. That unsettles them because no big man wants to be seen being shoved by a small man like me. But overall, those big men are softies so yeah, I target them," he adds. 

In this case, Wanyama is basically the same as Saddam in the way they approach and tame the big monsters. 

Coming of age

From Namilyango, Wanyama joined London College of St. Lawrence for his Advanced Level studies. Teaming up with the likes of Isaac Massa, this was a perfect place to be at. 

In rugby, players actually recruit others by telling them all the good stuff at their clubs. That's what Nathan Bwambale and Ivan Magomu did to Wanyama.

Wanyama and Magomu's 9-10 halfback combination goes back to their Namilyango days and they have maintained it for both club and country.

When Wanyama joined Pirates in 2014 (Senior Six holiday), he found a family like no other. The relations that rugby cultivates are lifelong, and many rugby players talk about the support system, career guidance and employment opportunities that the fraternity avails.

For example, after his graduation with a Social Work degree from Uganda Christian University (UCU), he landed a job at Stanbic Bank with help from rugby people before quitting to join business. He currently sells phones and other gadgets in town.

Wanyama took to Pirates' free flowing rugby like a duck to water. As a scrumhalf, he became the primary source of that quick ball. Complemented by Magomu, Timothy Kisiga, Odongo, Massa, Raymond Emanzi and Baron Kasozi, that backline was in real trouble and two league titles followed.

National team

It's one thing to be a rugby player and it's another to represent your country at Test level. It's a different ball game, and Wanyama attests to that.

It took him a good number of years to break into the team despite being called up on many occasions as he was always behind the likes of Kevin Markmot, Davis Kyewalabye and Paul Epillo. 

In 2022, he travelled to France as back up to Epillo, who was the vice captain. Wanyama fancies a quick and direct attacking style while Epillo is more conservative. Remember that try against Ivory Coast? Typical Wanyama play, seeing gaps and breaking through.

After France, Epillo went busy with books and injuries came in and Wanyama 'stole' the number and he, alongside Byron Oketayot, were named Magomu's vice captains during last year's Victoria Cup, which Uganda hosted and won. 

Leadership comes with added pressures and responsibilities. Wanyama appreciates the role as it makes him “sleep with one eye on myself and another on the team”

"You have to lead by example in all aspects; on and off the pitch. You have to lift everyone up. You have to be the link between many forces and it calls for some growing up and good people skills," he reveals. 

2024, year of learning 

Earlier this year, Wanyama was one of the seven players sent to South Africa for a high performance training program. The training lasted three months and he went with Santos Senteza, Ivan Kabagambe, Faragi Odugo, Eliphaz Emong, Byron Oketayot and Sydney Gongodyo.

Then the rest of the Uganda Cranes joined them for an intense 10-day training camp. 

"South Africa was another chapter in our rugby careers. We went through the best training and that teaches you a lot. It opens your eyes to many things that you only used to read or hear about. That way, as a player, you can only keep growing," he adds.

However, many outsiders can claim that the results of the camp were not necessarily replicated during the continental tourney held at Namboole a fortnight ago.

And Wanyama, not one to mince his words, knows this. Uganda's opening game against Zimbabwe was more telling. The visitors sprinted to a 22-00 first half lead, to the astonishment of local fans.

"I will be very frank with you, we don't know what happened. No one can explain this to you. Everything we learnt in South Africa wasn't working out.

"In camp (SA), everything was perfect. We came back well tuned to our structure, set pieces, attack and defence but during that first half, everything flew out through the window. We looked clueless. I think the only time we knitted four phases was at kick-off. Our lineouts were horrible. Our scrum was shattered. Our passing was zero. Our box and attacking kicks were well covered by Zimbabwe. Our defence was zero..." He goes on and on. 

That is the learning that happens during Test Rugby matches and it came as a rude awakening to a number of players.
France-based fullback Phillip Wokorach had to step up and show what makes him a pro player by scoring 15 points and assisting his brother Innocent Gwokto but it was too late.

Uganda would go on to beat Burkina Faso 25-15 in their second outing. The last classification match was another testing hurdle. Uganda had to dig deep to beat Senegal 34-31 through a Joseph Aredo sudden death penalty after finishing regular time level on 26-26 and extra time 31-31 all to finish 5th overall. 

"I must say we need to do better. At this level we shouldn't be talking about going back to the drawing board and improving. We should be talking about contending. We should be in that medal bracket. We should be one of the best," he argues.

"I confront him with the facts. Zimbabwe had always swapped places with Uganda behind Namibia and Kenya for long. But here they are, winning the tournament. Before the tournament,.one was right to say Algeria and Senegal were upstarts, compared to Uganda. Algeria reached the final. Senegal took Uganda to hell."

What do you call that? Stagnation? "I think we need to wake up and smell the coffee. We can't live in past glory. That is a call that everyone must take. From our side (players) to the people up there. 

Not just call, but a small dog's fierce bark, maybe. 

In brief

Name: Conrad Wanyama

Schools: St. Savio Junior School, Kisubi, Namilyango College School, London College of St. Lawrence

University: Uganda Christian University

Course: Bachelor of Social Work and Social Administration

Sport: Rugby

Position: Scrumhalf

Club: Stanbic Black Pirates

Debut for Uganda: 2019, lost to Namibia