Matchday 1 Results | 14th January

• Pirates 24-18 Heathens
• KOBs 76-00 Walukuba
• Jinja Hippos 22-25 Impis
• Buffaloes 40-12 Rhinos
• Mongers 11-09 Rams

Black Pirates got the better of defending champions Heathens in the opening match of the 2023 Rugby Premier League on Saturday at King’s Park Arena in Bweyogerere.

The Sea Robbers won the mouth-watering encounter 24-18 to claim the opening day bragging rights.

Winger Joshua Engwau, full-back Timothy Kisiga, eighth man Alex Aturinda and Moses Olweny scored the tries for the hosts with two converted by William Nkore.

Playing in his 15th season with Heathens, Michael Wokorach was on the score sheet for the yellow machine and Nobert Okeny scored the other try. Joseph Oyet (one conversion) and Chris Lubanga (2 penalties) got the points off the tee.

The win put Pirates third on the 10-team top-tier league table with four points, a point behind KOBs and Buffaloes who registered bonus-point wins. Heathens are eighth with a losing bonus point.

Matchday 2 Fixtures | Saturday, 21st January

• Buffaloes vs Heathens – Kyadondo
• Mongers vs Hippos – Entebbe
• Rams vs Kobs – Makerere
• Rhinos vs Pirates – Legends
• Impis vs Walukuba – Makerere.

Matchday 1 Fixtures | Saturday, 14th January

• Pirates Vs Heathens – Kings Park, 3pm
• KOBs Vs Walukuba – Legends, 4pm
• Hippos Vs Impis – Dam Water, 4pm
• Buffaloes Vs Rhinos – Kyadondo, 4pm
• Mongers Vs Rams – Entebbe, 4pm

The 2023 Rugby Premier League kicks off this afternoon with the highlight fixture of the opening day happening at King’s Park in Bweyogerere as Black Pirates host Heathens.

Defending champions Heathens go into the fixture with their heads high having beaten Pirates in the Uganda Cup final late last year in Entebbe.

In the league, the yellow machine beat Pirates home and away last season – 23-10 at Kyadondo and 28-13 at King’s Park.

The Sea Robbers will be hoping for better fortune as they go for their second title since winning their maiden in 2018 when they swept every silverware there was to win.

With the sevens players available for both camps, it promises to be a closely contested mouthwatering affair to open the season.

Starting 15s

Pirates – 1. Ivan Kabagambe, 2.  Nathan Bwambale, 3. Ruhweza Alema, 4. Frank Kidega, 5. Umar Duff, 6. Desire Ayera, 7. Humphrey Tashobya, 8. Alex Aturinda, 9. Conrad Wanyama, 10. Ivan Magomu, 11. Moses Olweny, 12. William Nkore, 13. Timothy Odongo, 14. Joshua Engwau, 15. Timothy Kisiga

Heathens – 1. Santos Senteza, 2. Syrus Wathum, 3. Victor Wangobo, 4. Charles Uhuru, 5. Akera Komakech, 6. Tonny Okello, 7. Aziz Khan, 8. Scott Oluoch, 9. Aaron Ofoyrwoth, 10. Chris Lubanga, 11. Claude Otema, 12. Innocent Gwokto, 13. Michael Wokorach, 14. Nobert Okeny, 15. Joseph Oyet

Newly appointed Uganda Rugby Union CEO Isaac Lutwama will focus his agenda on making rugby the biggest sport in Uganda.

Lutwama was announced on URU on December 30, 2022, to replace Ramsey Olinga on a two-year contract.

“I would want to leave Rugby as the No.1 sport in terms of delivering a great experience for both players and fans in Uganda,” Lutwama told Daily Monitor.

“I would want to see us ranked in the Top 30 in World Rugby and qualifying consistently for both Men’s and Women’s World Cups for Sevens & 15s,” he added.

Uganda Rugby Cranes and Heathens hooker Alex Mubiru has officially retired from playing.

Mubiru, who is the most decorated rugby player in the country, calls time on his illustrious career having won over twenty major national titles.

Throughout his playing career, Mubiru has shown loyalty, leadership, commitment as well as hard work and he is regarded as the best hooker the country has produced.

He earned his national 7s team debut in 2004 in Dubai 7s which was followed by the 15s debut in 2005 becoming a mainstay on the team and playing 52 tests.

Mubiru’s last action for Heathens was in Uganda Cup against Kobs (semifinals) and Pirates (finals) with both matches ending in extra time and his side being victors.

It remains to be seen whether he will get into active coaching.

Honours

Isaac Lutwaama Nsubuga has been appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of Uganda Rugby Union (URU).

Lutwama takes on the role of CEO from Ramsey Olinga who continues to serve the sport as the Chief Technical Officer.

He joins after serving in different multinational corporate companies such as Unilever & Copia and is an experienced Brand and Marketing professional, with over 10 years of experience working in the FMCG sector in Uganda and Kenya.

He is a trained Economist with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from Makerere University, he is passionate about sports, rugby in particular, and the role it plays in building the ability to work as part of a team, building relationships & camaraderie to win.

Lutwama has previously served as Vice Chairman of Kampala Old Boys (KOBs) Rugby Club.

URU hopes to leverage his experience building and marketing brands to help build a sustainable future of financial strength, sporting excellence & success for Ugandan Rugby.

On the appointment, URU President Godwin Kayangwe said; “We welcome Isaac to the URU administration. He brings a wealth of experience in administration and marketing. In the bid to professionalize rugby, we have to consider the right personnel to guide the players as well as maintain high levels of stakeholder engagements continuously and certainly in order to achieve our vision. He is also a former player and administrator at KOBs. We have high hopes in him to steer our strategic direction.”

Black Pirates and Heathens will face off in the headline fixture of the opening day of the 2023 Rugby Premier League in what will be a repeat of the Uganda Cup final played last weekend.

This season opener will be played at King’s Park, the Sea Robbers’ home in Bweyogerere, during the first matchday on Saturday, 14th January.

The Uganda Rugby Union released the fixtures for the 2023 season on Monday, 19th December 2022.

Other Matchday One Fixtures

Newly-promoted side Walukuba Barbarians will face fourteen-time champions, Kobs, in the other headline tie of the opening matchday.

Jinja Hippos will host Impis at Dam Waters, Rams will make the trip to Entebbe to take on Mongers while Rhinos will make a short trip across Coronation Road to take Buffaloes at Kyadondo.

Key Dates

The first round of the Lions Cup (Heathens against Kobs) will be played on 28th January and the second round match falls on Fools’ Day (1st April).

Past League Winners

• 1990 – Kobs
• 1991 – Heathens
• 1992 – Heathens
• 1993 – Heathens
• 1994 x Not Held
• 1995 – Kobs
• 1996 – Impis
• 1997 – Kobs
• 1998 – Kobs
• 1999 – Kobs
• 2000 – Kobs
• 2001 – Kobs
• 2002 – Heathens
• 2003 – Kobs
• 2004 – Heathens
• 2005 – Heathens
• 2006 – Kobs
• 2007 – Kobs
• 2008 – Kobs
• 2009 – Heathens
• 2010 – Heathens
• 2011 – Heathens
• 2012 – Heathens
• 2013 – Heathens
• 2014 – Kobs
• 2015 – Heathens
• 2016 – Kobs
• 2017 – Heathens
• 2018 – Black Pirates
• 2019 – Heathens
• 2020 – Heathens
• 2021 – Kobs
• 2022 – Heathens

 

 

Heathens Rugby Football Club needed extra time to edge Black Pirates 20-14 in the Uganda Cup final played at the Works Ground in Entebbe.

The game was decided by the boot of fullback Joseph Oyet who scored a drop goal and converted a penalty in extra time to win heathens their twelfth Uganda Cup.

It was the second time the Heathens were playing beyond the normal 80 minutes as they won a coin toss to beat KOBs in the semifinals.

Pirates led 06-05 thanks to two penalties from skipper Ivan Magomu and extended the lead to 09-05 through a William Nkore penalty at the start of the second half.

A pair of penalties from Chris Lubanga and another from the man of the match Oyet gave Heathens a 14-09 lead but Timothy Odong scored a try that wasn’t converted and the game went into extra time.

Oyet then scored six points off the boot to seal the cup for Heathens.

Meanwhile, Impis Rugby Club beat Warriors 31-10 in the Shield final to retain their title for a second successive season.

The Uganda Cup finals marked the conclusion of the 2022 rugby season.

Avengers are the winners of the 2022 Uganda Cup.

Avengers defeated Thunderbirds 18-16 to win the cup for the first time in their history.

Kyoita’s penalty kick put Thunderbirds in the lead but Christine Akello responded with a try for Avengers.

Yvonne Njjuma then scored a try for the Thunderbirds converted by Kyoita who also converted two penalties.

Peace Lekuru later scored a try for Avengers converted by Amina Naluggya who also struck a match-winning penalty for Avengers.

It was the second edition of the women’s cup.

After a rough outing in the Middle East at the Dubai Sevens where they lost all their games, Uganda’s national team heads south of the continent for the Cape Town 7s.

The Cape Town 7s scheduled for 9th-11th December is the last event Uganda Sevens will be participating in this season’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series as they are just an invitational side.

While Denis Etwau was impressive on his international debut, the group with a number of new legs at this stage will be hoping to be better in South Africa.

However, it doesn’t get easier on the international stage with top sides looking to better at the second event of the season but it will be another great exposure for Etwau, Twafik Bagalana, Jacob Ochen, Timothy Mugisha, and Mubarak Wandera who are playing international sevens rugby for the first time.

Uganda is in Pool D alongside the USA, and Great Britain as well as Series joint leaders and defending champions Australia.

Cape Town 7s Fixtures

Friday 9th Dec 2022

• USA vs Uganda – 5:12pm (EAT)

Saturday 10th Dec 2022

• Australia vs Uganda – 11:13am (EAT)
• Great Britain vs Uganda – 4:54pm (EAT)

Uganda Cup Semifinals | Saturday, 10th

• KOBS vs Heathens – Legends, 4:00pm
• Rhinos vs Black Pirates – Kings Park, 4:00pm

Kampala Old Boys (KOBs) Rugby Club will face perennial rivals Heathens Rugby Club in the semifinals of the Uganda Cup as per the draws conducted.

KOBs will play host to their eternal rivals at Legends Rugby Ground on Saturday, 10th December with kickoff scheduled for 4:00pm.

It will be a repeat of the 2019 finals in which KOBs edged 15-14 Heathens courtesy of Ivan Kirabo’s final-minute penalty conversion at Kings Park in Bweyogerere.

The other semifinal will be between Black Pirates (3rd place finishers in 2019) against Rhinos who returned to the top-tier league a couple of seasons ago.

Pirates (winners of the cup in 2017) will host the game at Kings Park and will go into the game as outright favourites in the fixture given the disparity in the quality of players.

Shield Semifinals

In the early kick-off at Legends, Warriors will take on Mbarara Titans while the early kickoff at Kings Park will see regular shield winners Impis play Stallions.

Previous winners

1999: Heathens
2000: Heathens
2001: Heathens
2002: Heathens
2003: Heathens
2004: Heathens
2005: Kobs
2006: Kobs
2007: Pirates
2008: Kobs
2009: Heathens
2010: Kobs
2011: Kobs
2012: Kobs
2013: Heathens
2014: Heathens
2015: Heathens
2016: Heathens
2017: Pirates
2018: Kobs