“What Matters Isn’t the Size of the Player but the Heart of the Player”: Zambia Captain Kamuntu’s Rise from Bench-Warmer to Leader
After starting rugby just three years ago, Chama Kamuntu now leads Zambia into battle against hosts Uganda in the 2026 Barthes Trophy First Division opener tomorrow. (Tickets, Fixtures and Free Streaming Information Below)
KAMPALA, Uganda – Chama Kamuntu first picked up a rugby ball just three-and-a-half years ago in January 2023, a sport he barely understood at the time — to the point where he became a target of mockery during training.
Now, he is preparing to captain Zambia at the Rugby Africa U20 Barthes Trophy in Uganda from 7–15 August.
Zambia Under-20 head coach Phillip Dongo remembers how far Kamuntu has come, describing a player who was once overlooked but refused to give up on his ambitions.
“The young man was underestimated and laughed at because his skill level was too low,” Dongo tells Rugby Africa Media.
“He was a substitute for the ‘B’ team of his school. Though rugby wasn’t his main sport, he was still determined to prove all the haters wrong and show them that he could make the team. He trained one-on-one with his coach for a month and built his skill level. He returned later on and became one of the best passers and eventually the starting flyhalf for his team. All the players who underestimated him now looked up to him because he became a crucial player for the team.”
Kamuntu agrees with his coach’s assessment of his early struggles.
“Yes, that’s true,” Kamuntu says. “I was a bench-warmer for my high school, Sentinel Kabitaka Bisons, a private school owned by Educore Services, under the Kansanshi Mine. The school is associated with the Independent Schools Association of Zambia and is located in Solwezi, Zambia.”
Looking back on those early days, Kamuntu recalls a mixture of frustration and motivation as he worked to transform himself from a player struggling to make the team into one of its leaders.
“During one training session, one of my seniors laughed hard at me after he heard me saying ‘I’m Aaron Smith’, the former All Blacks scrumhalf, who’s my favourite rugby player,” he says.
“That specific act lit a fire in me and I definitely didn’t take it lightly. I started going to the gym with the team coach and had one-on-one field sessions with him. Besides that, I would set up my own training space at home where I would work on my skills, mainly my passing, because that’s Aaron Smith’s main strength. I worked my way around that in the space of one month during our school break and when we finally opened, I became better than ever. Being able to make the first team and being the youngest starter encouraged other young players in the school to take up rugby.”
That transformation brought out another quality in Kamuntu: leadership. As his confidence grew, so did his ability to inspire those around him.
“This laid a platform for me to mentor the newer players of the team, most of whom were older than me, and the coach noticed this. The coach, along with the team captain at the time, both saw me as a future captain, one who was capable to lead the team, due to my ability to command from the front and lead by example. This was a decision that the whole team was comfortable with.
“ The coach who helped me is actually currently part of the coaching staff of the Zambia Under-20 national team and is someone I’m very close to, coach Brighton Matiashe. My coach knew I wasn’t the biggest, the fastest or the strongest, but one thing he always told me was that what matters isn’t about the size of the player but the heart of the player. He always told me to believe in myself and most importantly put God above everything.”
Kamuntu now lines up at outside-centre for a young Zambia Under-20 side competing in the Barthes Trophy First Division, one tier below the Performance Division. For him, the tournament represents an important opportunity not only for the team but for the future of Zambian rugby.
“I think sending this team of young players to Uganda is going to be a huge stepping stone for rugby in Zambia, especially for the younger players and hopefully as we go on, we can one day put Zambia on the map,” Kamuntu says.
“I would say we have a very strong front row with mobile forwards that make ball carrying more efficient, but the main area of our strength lies in the backline. The backline is filled with a set of very young and gifted all-round players. Our backline is very strong and can defend their hearts out, but the most important trait of the backline is our ability to move the ball. Our play is very basic but quick and I feel like this combination of strong and mobile players is going to get us the victories in the upcoming Barthes Trophy.”
Captaincy now presents Kamuntu with his biggest challenge yet, stepping from schoolboy rugby into the international arena.
“Captaining the Zambia team is definitely a huge privilege for me, obviously it’s not at the same level as high school rugby, and it is happening on a bigger stage,” he says.
“But one thing my coach always told me is that when you get an opportunity, you must grab it with both hands. I don’t just look at these people as my teammates, but I look at them as my family and I’m definitely going to put in 150 percent for my family and fight alongside them each and every step of the way.”
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Performance Division
- Namibia
- Zimbabwe
- Kenya
- Tunisia
First Division
- Zambia
- Uganda
Where to watch?
Rugby Pass TV: https://rugbypass.tv/home
Rugby Africa YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/RugbyAfricaOfficial
Rugby Africa Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RugbyAfrique
Friday 7 August 2026 (EAT)
- 10:00 – Namibia vs Tunisia (Performance Division)
- 13:00 – Kenya vs Zimbabwe (Performance Division)
- 16:00 – Zambia vs Uganda (First Division)
Tuesday 11 August 2026 (EAT)
- 10:00 – Zambia vs Uganda (First Division)
- 12:00 – LM1 vs LM2 (Performance Division)
- 15:00 – WM1 vs WM2 (Performance Division) (Winner of Tournament)
Saturday 15 August 2026 (EAT)
- 16:00 – Uganda vs Zimbabwe (Test Match)
Written by Enock Muchinjo
