By Johnson Were
Nile Special Rugby Premier League
Pirates 24 Heathens 18
Kobs 76 Walukuba 0
Hippos 22 Impis 25
Buffaloes 40 Rhinos 12
Mongers 11 Rams 9
The Stanbic Black Pirates beat the Platinum Credit Heathens 24-18 to end their long unbeaten run in the Nile Special Rugby Premier League.
The Sea Robbers also ended the Heathens’ dominance at the Kings Park Arena in Bweyogerere since 2019.
The win will undoubtedly come as a big motivation to the Pirates in the 10-team league after beating the title favourites, something skipper Ivan Magomu noted after a bruising 80 minutes.
“It was a tough game and I thank the boys who put up that resilience to win this game. This victory gives us hope that the league is ours,” Magomu noted.
“We just have to capitalise on this victory and win all games in the first round before entering the toughest stage which is the second leg,” he added.
His counterpart Michael Wokorach noted that; “the beginning of the season is always hard but the boys put in their best. We lost but we shall bounce back big.”
Joshua Engwau, Timothy Kisiga and Alex Aturinda managed a try each while William Nkore added a conversion to give the Pirates a 19-10 half-time lead.
Wokorach cut Heathens’ deficit with a try while Chris Lubanga added a penalty and Joseph Oyet a conversion.
In the second half, the Kyadondo side mounted pressure and got a penalty to close the gap to 19-13, but the hosts quickly responded with a try by Moses Olwenyi to stretch the lead to 24-13.
Heathens fought back through a Nobert Okenyi try but time was not on their side ending 24-13 and sending Pirates fans into delirium.
The Pirates’ Alex Aturinda was voted the man of the match.
In other games, Walukuba received a rude welcome to the top flight with a 76-0 thrashing at the hands of Kobs.
Hippos also suffered a 25-22 upset by the Makerere Impis, Toyota Buffaloes beat Rhinos 40-12, while the Plascon Mongers defeated Rams 11-9.
