Quartet seek early advantage ahead of title tilt

Heathens, Kobs, Hippos and Pirates will hope to catch the early worm on Saturday when they kick off the first leg semifinals of the 2024 Nile Special Rugby Championship.

Jinja Hippos is hosting Pirates at Dam Waters as Heathens cross Kampala road to raid Kobs at Legends in the two fixtures for a spot in the final.

Grandest rivalry

Of course, both games are of equal significance but the match at Legends carries the history of Uganda’s club rugby. The two giants have shared 30 of the 33 championship titles between themselves since 1990 with Impis and Pirates disrupting the relay thrice.

Heathens’ trophy cabinet, if there’s one, is heavy with a record 16 titles, with ten of them coming in the last 15 years.

The Kyadondo juggernaut won this fixture in the regular season at today’s venue 25-13 but their coach Mohammed Athiyo knows the semifinal fixture will be decided by fine margins.

“This is one of those games that everyone focuses on so there’s that extra pressure it comes with but I believe the team that needs it the most and commits least errors, which should be us, will carry the day,” Athiyo said shortly after beating Walukuba 28-16 last week to advance 53-16 on aggregate.

Peaking at the right moment

The change of guard from coach Brian Makalama to Victor Wadia and his deputy Davis Kyewalabye and a few other faces exiting caused a slow start for Kobs. 

The team was the lowest ranked of the remaining quartet from the regular season but seems to have gotten their mojo back after posting the best result from the quarterfinals - dispatching Mongers 68-30 over two legs. Wadia’s assistant Kyewalabye believes they've hit their peak at the right moment.  

“It was bound to be a slow start because of the changes at the beginning of the season but we’ve peaked at the right moment,” Kyewalabye, one of the celebrated scrum-halves of his generation and the last coach to win the title for Kobs in 2021, said.

Across the River Nile, Jinja Hippos will hope to capitalize on their superb home form to grab an early advantage over defending champions Black Pirates at Dam Waters. 

The game was initially scheduled for tomorrow but an insider at URU informed this reporter that it was changed after a request by the league’s sponsor, Nile Special, due to commercial concerns. Hippos agreed but with reservations. 

Saturday’s games will mark the full return of Aaron Ofoyrwoth (Heathens), Desire Ayera and Timothy Kisiga (Pirates), Adrian Kasito and Ian Munyani for Kobs after being released from the national sevens camp to complete the league.

Elsewhere, debutants Kampani Eagles will start their battle to avoid the guillotine against Impis at Kitante.

Nile Special Rugby Championship 

Semifinal playoffs – first leg (4pm) 

Kobs vs. Heathens - Legends

Hippos vs. Pirates – Dam Waters

Relegation playoffs

Eagles vs. Impis – Kitante, 2 pm

Women’s league

Black Pearls vs. Ewes - Kings Park, 2pm

Avengers vs. Thunderbirds – Entebbe, 3 pm

Nile Rapids vs. She wolves - Dam Waters, 2 pm

Core status playoff fixtures

Gulu City Falcons vs. Elgon Wolves – Gulu, 4 pm

Victoria vs. Kigezi – Kyadondo, 2 pm