Pirates survive Rhinos’ horns, Kobs book Heathens date
Toyota Buffaloes' flyhalf Liam Walker prepares to take a kick against Jinja Hippos. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
Kobs were the most lethal, crashing Mongers 51-16 to emerge 68-30 winners from the contest.
Pirates escaped from the jaws of defeat to oust a stubborn Rhinos side to book a semifinal berth in the Nile Special Rugby Championship on Saturday at Kings Park.
The defending champions carried a mean 10-7 lead from the first leg but were trailing Rhinos 31-7 by halftime.
With the defeat in sight, the sea-robbers under stand-in coach Isaac Massa had a candid talk at halftime and returned with a raiders’ plan.
The trio of Paul Bagota, Isaac Jaden and Haruna Muhammad waylaid the Rhinos at the banks with four tries as Ivan Magomu dragged them to the deep waters with ten points off his boots.
The resilient Rhinos almost threw the spanner in the works with the last move of the game after dragging their opponents to their try line but a careless knock-on undid all their day’s efforts as they lost 40-34 on aggregate.
“We’ve not played such a game in a long time and have had some near-escapes but this was too close,” Isaac Massa, standing in for coach Marvin Odong told the media after the gripping encounter.
Buffaloes' Arthur Akampa pulls away from Jinja Hippos Andrew Odhiambo'. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE
“We had to strategize at halftime because it was slipping away. The game gave us a good lesson mentally but we hope to avoid such a situation again,” he added.
Classics awaiting
Pirates will face Jinja Hippos in the two-legged semifinals that continue next weekend. The Hippos had their 19-point advantage from the first leg that put the tie beyond Buffaloes' reach after losing the second leg 12-5. Hippos advanced with a 45-33 win overall.
Fans will also have another feel of the biggest derby on the land when Heathens and Kobs go head-to-head in the next two weeks.
The duo booked each other after running over Walukuba and Mongers over the two legs. Heathens overcame Walukuba’s threat to win 28-16 to post a 51-16 victory from the round of eight.
Kobs were the most lethal, crashing Mongers 51-16 to emerge 68-30 winners from the contest.
Nile Special Rugby Championship
Quarterfinal results (on aggregate)
Kobs 68-30 Mongers (51-16)
Walukuba 16-53 Heathens (16-28)
Buffaloes 33-45 Hippos (12-05)
Black Pirates 40-34 Rhinos (30-27)
*Second leg results in brackets
