Samiya Ayikoru, undoubtedly one of the most brilliant Rugby minds that Uganda has produced in its history has announced her return to Rugby at a glamorous swans sports club annual awards dinner held on the 2/12/2023 at hotel No.5 in Entebbe.
She took a hiatus from the sport in 2021.

It is said that she decided to take this break to focus on other facets of her life and during this period she gave birth to a bouncing baby boy named Kyle.
Ayikoru relocated to Entebbe and while she was thinking about her new course of action, Coach Regina Lunyolo of Swans Sports Club took under her wing and gave her new purpose to life.

Samiya then ventured into coaching, starting with the Entebbe Lady Swans and the Jaguars, which are both under the Swans Sports Club and this was after she had completed her level 1 coaching course. She has since taken on level 2 and is on the casp of finalizing with it.

Why is Samiya Ayikoru Special?

Samiya Ayikoru started her Rugby journey in 2013 at Kyambogo College, which was a Rugby Power house in that period. Samiya being a very tiny girl of about 38 kgs, many did not think she could play the game but she defied all odds whenever she stepped on the pitch and to make it even more interesting, she played with the boys who were sometimes twice her size but she would somehow manage to outwit them.

She then joined Kyadondo based Club Thunderbirds and from there onwards, she never looked back.

During her spell with the Thunderbirds, she won 3 Rugby Premier League trophies, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

She was also the first teenager to win three USPA Female Rugby Player of the year awards, in 2015 and 2017 and her final one in 2019 before she took the much needed break.

National team

Samiya made her National team (XVs) debut in 2015 during the Elgon Cup first leg in Kenya which ended 5:5. She then went ahead to represent in 8 different games the last one competition being 2021 in the Rugby Africa Cup.

She made her National team 7s debut that very year and during the Africa Women’s sevens, she was voted as the Ugandan player of the tournament thanks to her brilliant tackles, gaps discovery, and impressive runs. She was joint top scorer (4 tries) with Grace Auma.
She went on to represent on a few multiple occasions, most of them in the Africa Women’s Sevens.

What next for her?

Given that the transfer window closed 10th November, it is highly unlikely that she will be seen participating in any major National/international competitions. Entebbe Ladyswans is building a 15’s set up slowly but steadily and hopefully they will be engaged in the league when it resumes in February. To see Samiya back in action on the big stage may take a little longer than expected, but she is putting in the work to get ready for action when called upon.

Given that she’s now become an integral part of the Entebbe Lady Swans and Jaguars, she may stay at the Franchise and help them more in their pursuit for success. Swans Sports Club has also been her family for the past 4 years where she has a valued team member who is committed to inspiring and mentoring more girls and boys to play rugby irrespective of their size, weight, age, social background or circumstances.