The national women rugby team; the Blackbacks are set to start training ahead of the Confederation of African Rugby Women 7s tournament which is scheduled for September 26-27 in Kampala, Uganda.

A provisional squad of 15 players has already been summoned to start training at Rugunga playground. However, the final team will be trimmed down to 12.

The two-day tournament was initially scheduled for June 27-28 and CAR has not given any comprehensive details for postponing the event.

Blackbacks coach Jean de la Paix Hategekimana is optimistic that his side can pull off a surprise despite the current crop of players lacking enough experience at this level.

"Although the team is relatively new and has never participated in any regional competition, they are a very promising side,” Hategekimana said yesterday in a telephone interview.

Blackbacks are ranked amongst Africa’s top ten nations.  Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi are also expected to compete in the tournament.

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