The Buffaloes were title contenders in the 2025 National 7s Series until they fell on day one of the final circuit at home.
They went toe-to-toe with eventual winners, the Walukuba Barbarians, for 6 stops, often exchanging the lead on the table.
Buffaloes’ consistency saw them winning 2 of the 3 finals they reached in the series, but after losing to KOBs and Jinja Hippos on Day 1 of the Buffaloes 7s, the last stop of the series, their title hopes were as good as done. All Walukuba had to do was to at least reach the main cup semifinal to be confirmed champions.
Buffaloes, which was almost assured of a Top 2 finish, ended up 3rd overall, with fellow Kyadondo side, Heathens, closing the 12-point gap and finishing second in the series. With that backdrop, it is now clear that the goal for Buffaloes is ‘to have a better performance than last year’, as Charles Onen, the Buffaloes coach, notes.
At the peak of the title chase at the Kabale 7s, Buffaloes was flying high and won the circuit, defeating Walukuba 14 – 12 in the final. This victory, however, came with a huge price to pay as fatigue and injuries started setting in.
“We were unfortunate with the ruling out of some players who were at the forefront of our performance due to suspected concussions,” Onen reflects on the exit of Humphrey Ndahura and Daniels Otim from the 2025 series.
Additionally, Buffaloes lost their 7s campaign captain, Fat Moses Watmon, through injury, and he wasn’t able to carry on with the series. However, Onen is firm and ready to move forward with his charges.
“That’s sports; we learn lessons and plan for the next outing,” he said.
Going forward, the Buffaloes have updated their playbook, and Onen was able to share a few snippets.
“Based on the new format, the competition is going to be harder, so each player needs to dominate the 1 v 1 situations and set piece attacks,” Onen said about the game-by-game targets. “Our focus will be to have our best performance in the first 4-5 circuits before fatigue starts to kick in during the final 2 circuits.”