The Black Pirates have overcome adversity on and off the pitch this season to reach the National Rugby Premiership final.

Leading up to their semifinal encounter against the Heathens, the Pirates lost a key player in Sydney Gongodyo, whose young life was cut short due to mob violence.

The Pirates recollected themselves and won the first leg 15-03 at Kyadondo Rugby Club, then went on to weather the Heathens’ storm at Kings Park Arena to advance to the final on a 36-30 aggregate win, despite the loss at home.

Despite the tumultuous past three weeks, the Pirates have shown character in their title defence, thanks to the leadership of Isaac Massa and Frank Kidega on the pitch, while in the technical area, they’ve had the astute guidance of their coach, Marvin Odong.

Going into the final, Odong believes he and his coaching staff have done enough to prepare the Pirates for the big encounter.

“Preparations have gone well. We’ve gone through our paces, and the players have worked hard throughout the week. The focus has been excellent, and we’re looking forward to what should be a great final between two quality sides,” Odong remarks.

The Pirates won the 2025 title after a mouth-watering encounter against the Jinja Hippos that went down to extra time. This year, the ideal situation for the Pirates would be to close the game within the 80 minutes, something that Odong believes is achievable.

“We’ve done our part to ensure the boys are in the best shape they can be, so I believe they’ll be locked in and ready for the weekend. They have earned the right to play in this final despite a rough past few weeks, and I have no doubt they’ll make themselves proud on Saturday,” Odong expresses confidence in his team.

On the other hand, the Buffaloes have been an exciting side to watch this season. All their hard work has paid off, and now they find themselves in the final after losing to the Heathens 13 years ago in the final.

This incredible Buffaloes run, coupled with a tight 23-17 regular season win for the Pirates, is a wake-up call for Odong and his charges. He notes that ‘pressure is privilege’ and has urged his boys to embrace it because it is a part of playing at that level.

“What is a final without some pressure anyway?” Odong ponders. 

The Black Pirates are 3-time league winners and will be looking to add a 4th tomorrow, Saturday, at the Kings Park Arena.

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The Black Pirates are set to make a historic third National Rugby Premiership playoff final appearance after going past Heathens with a 36-30 aggregate win.

Since the return to the knock-out league format in 2024, the Pirates have featured in every final, losing to the Heathens in the first and defeating the Jinja Hippos in 2025, in a final that went to extra time.

This year, the Pirates are going to meet a Buffaloes side that cruised past Makerere Impis in the semifinal.

The Pirates and Heathens have split the last 4 league titles, but the Pirates now have the enviable opportunity to become back-to-back league winners.

The KOBs, who bowed out in the quarterfinals, are the last side to lift the league trophy in 2021, after a return-to-play round-robin league format due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Eric Mulamula starred for the Pirates at Kyadondo Rugby Club when they defeated the Heathens 15-03. At the Kings Park Arena, it was Timothy Kisiga’s turn to put up a man-of-the-match performance. He started at flyhalf, but also featured at full back when Haruna Muhammad was sent to the sin bin, then finished the game off at Center in a 27-21 defeat to the Heathens.

In the semifinals, the Pirates maintained a core of 12 players who started in both legs, with a total of 20 players featured in both legs. Additionally, Pirates’ trusted hooker, Nathan Bwambale, reached a 150-game appearance milestone since 2016, when the club officially started keeping records.

The final between the Black Pirates and Buffaloes shall be played at the Kings Park Arena on the 27th of June at 4 PM.

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Impis once again find themselves in a position where they have to overturn a first-leg deficit in the National Rugby Premiership playoffs.

The Makerere side did the unthinkable against the KOBs in the quarterfinal playoffs, losing the first leg 23-12, but responding with a resounding 30-10 victory in the return leg to book their spot in the semifinal of the league playoffs.

That win unlocked a new milestone for Impis in the modern era, entering the Top 4 of Ugandan rugby, a ceiling that their opponents, the Buffaloes, are also cracking for the first time.

The Buffaloes, on the other hand, showed grit when they hosted the Mongers at Kyadondo. The Buffaloes had a narrow 4-point lead after a 22-18 win in Entebbe, but the mongers came out guns blazing in the second leg, earning a 12-00 lead in the first half, before crumbling in the second half to end the game in a 21-all draw.

Going into the second leg of the semifinal against Impis, the Buffaloes, who won at the Graveyard 20-11, will have to protect their 9-point lead throughout the 80 minutes to reach a historic final.

Where will the game be won?

The kicking from last Saturday was quite abysmal from both sides, but especially from the Impis. Darren Aine, the primary goal kicker for Impis, missed 5 of his 7 attempted kicks, including 1 conversion, while Buffaloes’ Yasin Waiswa only missed 2 of his goal attempts.

In open play, both teams were kicking straight to their opponents’ hands, but the Buffaloes had the edge, finding touch in some of those exit kicks. Impis, on the other hand, squandered a few touchfinders off penalties through their fullback Garvin Kirabo, something they need to improve on. 

At the breakdown, Impis had the upper hand, thanks to the jackling prowess of Eighth Man, Pius Mpoza. The Buffaloes, however, were the most aggressive team in that area, ensuring the Impis did not recycle out quick and clean ball from the base of the ruck, something that disrupted the flow of the game. The Buffaloes left no ruck unchecked, something that could have worked in favour of the Impis if only they had exploited the spaces left on the outside.

Generally, the set piece worked in favour of both sides, with Buffaloes registering an 82% success rate on the lineout, while the Impis retained 88% of their own lineout throws.

With a total of 15 handling errors in the game, no team was able to dominate the other at the scrum, only Impis registering a try directly off the scrum early in the first half. While factoring in the weather conditions, the team that has improved further on their set pieces in the last week will have the edge on Friday at Kyadondo.

In their last 3 games, the Buffaloes have been behind on the scoreboard at halftime, but they come into this game with a 9-point lead. That should be cushion enough to see out a first period that shall be characterised by a barrage of attacks by Impis. Both sides need to stay strong and consistent throughout the 80 minutes, or else dreams shall be shattered at the de facto home of Ugandan rugby.

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