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From Source to Sea: The making of the a rugby final
Hippos are making waves. PHOTOS/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
Yasin Waiswa, their sharp-shooting kicker, has quietly racked up 164 points while consistently keeping the scoreboard ticking in tight contests.
The Nile River begins in Jinja, its waters cutting through rocks and forest before spilling into the Mediterranean Sea’s embrace. It’s poetic, then, that the 2025 Nile Special Rugby Premiership final will be decided between the Jinja Hippos, born at the source, and Stanbic Black Pirates, sea-roving marauders who’ve mastered the breeze at their Kings Park fortress in Kampala.
What began on January 11 as a journey of a dozen clubs chasing glory has now come down to two teams. Though slightly different in playing style and club culture, they are strikingly similar in structure and ambition.
This isn’t just a final, it’s the collision of two well-built machines. One forged through mettle and community and the other refined with flair and a planned environment.
A rise forged in the east
Hippos weren’t always in the title conversation. Just a few seasons ago, they were considered perennial underdogs that was tough to beat at home but lacking the consistency of the big boys. Hippos finished ninth out of 10 teams, avoiding relegation by a whisker in their debut season in 2018, seventh in 2019 and fifth in 2020. But those days are long gone.
The club’s transformation has been steady and grassroots-driven. Anchored by a committed leadership first under Jonan Manzi and now Joshua Wakabi, they’ve focused on nurturing local talent, investing in coaching and building a fortress at Dam Waters, a very uncomfortable guest house for any team.
Even after losing 14 key players in preseason including star Andrew Odhiambo, Eliphaz Emong (to Pirates) and former captain and top try-point scorer Maxwell Ebonga, they found solutions internally with the rise of several young talents like Bruno Kisule and Edgar Lameriga. Under the calm guidance of coach Edmond Quaresma and technical director Tim Grover, Hippos have become a fearsome unit.
They don’t win pretty but they win with bruising defense, close support play and a rock-solid scrum. Their two tries against Kobs in the second leg came directly from the scrum.
A 38-22 victory over defending champions Heathens in Week Six was the first tremor. Their dramatic playoff semifinal comeback against Kobs at Legends was the full-blown declaration of intent.
Yasin Waiswa, their sharp-shooting kicker, has quietly racked up 164 points while consistently keeping the scoreboard ticking in tight contests.
Setting sail
If Hippos are thunder, the Black Pirates are lightning. Their game is swift, structured and dangerous. The moment they get clean ball, the tempo triples.
They stretch teams wide, exploit mismatches and finish with ruthless efficiency. Their numbers this season are obscene. They scored 496 points in the regular season which was 100 more than their closest rivals.
According to stats from Isa Metrics, they were the only team that scored three or more tries in every game while against the rest, the Sea-Robbers inflicted the biggest defeats on eight of the 11 teams.
Their quarterfinal and semifinal dismantling of Walukuba and Heathens was less of match-ups and more of a masterclass: clinical, confident and cold-blooded.
But behind the flair lies discipline. Coach Marvin Odong’s blueprint calls for quick ruck speed, layered attacking phases and offloads delivered with surgical precision. And the personnel deliver:
William Nkore, the silent architect, leads the league in points; Timothy Kisiga and Sydney Gongodyo torment defenses in the wide channels with their intelligent running lines and pace that has racked a combined 18 tries.
But they are more than just a team, they're a brand. Formed in 1996 by graduates from Makerere University who could no longer feature for Impis, they’ve built a professional, forward-facing identity.
They market themselves brilliantly, engage fans across digital platforms and play a recognizable brand of rugby.
Their home matches at Kings Park are not just fixtures but events that are complete with a bustling crowd and a lively Rugby Chill Bar. Their jerseys and side-pitch boards resemble billboards, loaded with sponsors.
Pirates are accustomed to winning.
Styles make finals
This final promises entertainment from two sides that mirror each other in ambition with a slight difference in approach. Hippos are grounded in physicality.
They suffocate opponents at the breakdown, pressure with strategic kicking and dominate set pieces. When they win, it feels earned.
Pirates are wind and water. Fluid, fast and merciless. After all, wind and water is what powers pirates in their trade. They don’t just beat you, they run around you, through you and offload over you.
A shift in power
Statistically, it’s a dead heat. Pirates have outscored Hippos but Jinja’s defense is watertight. And beyond tactics and stats lies the heartbeat of this final.
This is the first final where neither team in the top two hails from within the boundaries of Kampala City. Pirates are from Wakiso, Hippos from the tourism-rich city of Jinja.
Pirates cracked the Kobs-Heathens duopoly when they won it in 2019 and established a new trinity. Hippos joined that elite group last season by finishing second in the regular season and third overall. They have steadily climbed a place in the ladder in each of their last three seasons.
Besides Bul FC in football, they’re the pride of the East. What sets them apart is they are a club built for the community and by the community. Their fans don’t just watch, they believe. Players live among their supporters. They eat together, party together, cry together. There are no stars, only brothers in arms.
Pirates, on the other hand, represent the future. A club with unrelenting ambition and professionalism, yet loyal to the youthful vibrancy that birthed them.
NILE SPECIAL RUGBY PREMIERSHIP
Final: Saturday, May 10
Stanbic Black Pirates vs. Jinja Hippos, Kings Park Arena
