The Buffaloes extended their lead at the top of the Uganda Rugby championship, going two points clear of Pirates.
Last Saturday, the Buffaloes defeated the Mongers with a bonus point, while the Pirates could only attain 4 points out of a possible 5 after Kakira Simbas was a no-show at King’s Park. However, the bonus-point win didn’t come easy in the game that coach Charles Onen described as ‘tough at the start.’
Despite going into the break with an 8-3 lead, the Buffaloes were largely unconvincing in the first half, and Onen put this down to the break the domestic league has been on, and additionally noted that the players were still struggling to get back into playing mode.
The forwards on the day, led by Man of the Match Douglas Musoke, gave their backs a good attacking platform, but the ball kept getting hogged in the midfield. Onen was quite candid in his assessment of the center pairing of Owen Mugogo and Muhammad Nyanzi, who were good in defence. In one instance of attack, Mugogo got himself sent to the sin bin for leading with a forearm.
“I think we struggled a bit with the center pairing in there. We really need to see how to get it going because it has worked before, so it is something to look into. Maybe a one-on-one with them, because the finishing was really bad,” noted Onen with concern.
For the Buffaloes coaching staff, focus now shifts to how best they can get the whole team functioning as a unit, because in the words of Onen, ‘it could be the wingers next time’.
That causal first half performance and a dominant display in the second half was just enough to secure the win for Buffaloes. With three games to go, Buffaloes are still focused on finishing better than they did last season.
“Our target was to try and be better than we were last season. Our last three fixtures are tough. They are winnable, but we need to compose ourselves more as a team,” remarked Onen.
After two Game Weeks at the summit of the championship, the Buffaloes are definitely enjoying their rugby.
“Life will always be good at the top. The only challenge is to stay on top, so one game at a time and let’s see how to maintain that. It is a good feeling, so we are still pushing to stay up there,” remarked Onen.
The 3 remaining games for the Buffaloes are against Makerere Impis, Victoria Sharks, and the KOBs.