Heathens complete dominant season with 7s title

Platinum Credit Heathens clinched the Nile Special 7s crown by just reaching the final of the Henry Rujumba 7s tournament held at the Kings Park Arena over the weekend.Despite a 17-12 defeat to hosts Stanbic Black Pirates in the final, Heathens had amassed the most points to take home the overall title for the first time in over a decade.The tense final started with Pirates taking an early lead through Timothy Kisiga’s converted try that put a 7-0 difference between the finalists.Malcolm Okello would respond for Heathens and the Sea Robbers carried a narrow 7-5 lead into the halftime break.Paul Bagota crossed the try line for Pirates in the second half to hand the hosts a 12-5 lead but Nobert Okeny’s try was converted by Okello to level matters and send the game into extra time.There was nothing to separate the two sides until Denis Etwau lost the ball forward late in the game, from which Conrad Wanyama capitalized to close the contest when he dummied past Lawrence Ssebuliba and beat him for pace to touch down and send the home crowd into wild celebrations.Despite the defeat, Heathens collected 127 points, two more than Pirates, to clinch the overall title.The start to the season was rocky for Muhammad Athiyo’s charges after faltering in Entebbe but victories in the Gulu s and Kyabazinga 7s played a huge role in the team’s overall success. Heathens’ captain Okello, scored the most points in the two-day tournament and was named as MVP.“It’s been a long journey. We didn’t start the season well but we went back to the drawing board, won two circuits, and managed to stay on top,” Okello, who was later named MVP, told the press.“Obviously, we wanted to win the Rujumba 7s but it wasn't our day, but I’m proud of my teammates for their tireless efforts,” he added.With the victory, Heathens completed the 2023-2024 Uganda rugby season with all the three top honours, having earlier claimed the Uganda Cup and the Nile Special Rugby Championship.Buffaloes finished third with 101 points, while KCB Kobs, with 99, ended the season fourth. Walukuba Barbarians and the Jinja Hippos tied at 98 points.In the women’s category, Avengers Rugby Club clinched the title to dethrone Black Pearls, who had dominated the competition in the last three seasons.The Entebbe based side had a shock 22-15 defeat on Day One of the Rujumba 7s but defeated Kitgum Queens 22-15 in their last pool match to complete the job.Black Pearls defeated She Wolves 36-19 in the final to win the home circuit.

Nile Special 7s

Rujumba 7s

Final

Men

Pirates 17-12 Heathens

Women

Black Pearls 36-19 She Wolves

Overall

Heathens -127 points

Pirates -125 points

Buffaloes -101 points