- Nile Special Rugby Premier League – Round 13
- Result: Stanbic Black Pirates 27-22 Jinja Hippos
Stanbic Black Pirates had set a clear target of beating Jinja Hippos with a bonus point this Saturday. They needed to. Because either Heathens or Kobs, ahead of them by two and three points respectively in the standings, was going to lose points in the top-of-the-table clash at Kyadondo.
But Pirates did not play like a team with an ambitious target of staying in the title race. Hippos rattled them straight from kickoff. It took just four minutes for Edrine Lemeriga to speed through for the opening try—a well-worked move off a set piece that caught the backs napping.
The Sea Robbers responded with two beautiful team tries scored by Arnold Atukunda in the twenty-eighth minute and just before half-time. The two young wingers, Lemeriga and Atukunda, were giving each other a run for their money. And both teams’ fans loved it.
In the build-up to each of Atukunda’s tries, Pirates’ midfield combination of Eric Mulamula and Isaac Massanganzira displayed how much quality they add to the squad.
Pirates yet to unlock the perfect midfield pair but Mula-Massa steadies the ship
Coach Marvin Odongo and Director of Rugby Robert Musinguzi, his right hand man, have explored all options available to find the perfect midfield pair at Stanbic Black Pirates for about three years…
The score was 20-10 at the break but it took twenty minutes for the first points to be scored in the second half. Man-on-form Sydney Gongodyo powered over at the back of the scrummage and Pirates, momentarily, had the bonus point in the bag.
But just four minutes later, they switched off and the bonus point disappeared into thin air. A brilliant individual display by John Echeru in which he sidestepped nearly the entire team on the counterattack left Pirates defending for their lives and resulted in a penalty try. Massanganzira was sent to the bin for a high tackle on Lemeriga who had the try line beckoning.
In trying to fight back for the bonus point, Pirates focused on attacking at the expense of their defence and they conceded another try through Meddy Bagalana.
That was the bonus point try. Not for Pirates but for Hippos who had come within seven points. The visitors had scored the first try to rattle their hosts and they scored the last try to dent their title charge.
It is certainly too early to call it a wrap but Pirates will need the mother of all sporting miracles to win their second title in history at the end of this season.
