As the bookmakers had anticipated, Kobs were simply too strong for Impis on Matchday 11 of the Nile Special Stout Rugby Premier League as they thrashed them, 67-07, on Saturday at Legends Rugby Grounds.
Second-placed outfit Kobs faced no contest in their scrummages, proving to be stronger than their bottom-placed opponents at the set-piece. Kobs even earned a penalty try within the first 10 minutes of the match from a scrum after being held up inside the Impis try area.
Their solid scrummaging continued throughout the match as Impis, despite losing only one of their balls thrown in, buckled under pressure from the experienced Kobs forwards.
Without the ball, the forwards were dominant in their tackles and had a quick reaction in realigning for the next phase which forced Impis to relieve themselves of the pressure by kicking away the ball.
With ball in hand, they made maximum use of their superior size to break tackles and advance past the gain line. To combat this, Impis were forced to commit more numbers in the tackles which created overlaps on the outside channels for the running backs.
One could say that Kobs did not play to their highest efficiency as they undermined their opposition. There was no penalty kick for points attempted as they chose to use brute force past the Impis defense. Additionally, a dozen handling errors tallied on the day is one too many for the reigning Uganda Cup champions.
Impis’ outing was disastrous at the set pieces, to say the least. The recently promoted outfit could only win 1 out of 7 of their own lineouts. There seemed to be no connection between the hooker, the jumper, and his lifters.
However, there are a number of good things to report for Impis.
Seven visits to the Kobs 22m territory is manifest of their never-give-up attitude. This bore some fruits as Emmanuel Sedyabane scored a consolation try late in the match from a scrummage.
Impis were also able to turn over possession 7 times in the match which gave them the chance to attack against a disorganized opposition, although this did not materialize to points on the board.
