Hippos meet their size as Pirates drown Kobs

Unstoppable. Heathens’ Cyrus Wathum is just too much for Hippos even as they tackle in numbers. PHOTO / EDDIE CHICCO

What you need to know:

  • A week after losing second place to Kobs following a 23-18 home loss to Heathens, Pirates responded by drowning Kobs 13-11 in the Kings Park sea to complete a sweet league double over their rivals – for the first since 2018. 

Heathens will head into the three week Nile Special Premiership break the happiest in the league with another resounding victory but Stanbic Black Pirates were the biggest movers.

A week after losing second place to Kobs following a 23-18 home loss to Heathens, Pirates responded by drowning Kobs 13-11 in the Kings Park sea to complete a sweet league double over their rivals – for the first since 2018. 

Saturday’s win takes the Sea Robbers to 68 points, one ahead of Kobs. Even for a dead rubber, the game got fans on the edge of their seats.

The beautiful rugby, the ‘handbags’, the collisions, the controversies and drama were all somewhere in there.

Isaac Massa gave Pirates the lead with a try converted by Ivan Magomu, but Ian Munyani got Kobs back in it with a try before Joseph Aredo added two penalties for Kobs’ 11-7 lead at the break. 

Magomu pulled Pirates up again with a pair of penalties to make it 13-11.

With the league headed for a three-week break – to all preps for Africa Men’s Sevens –  the last two games will certainly have no impact on the title race. Heathens, on 77 points with a nine-point lead, are champions-in-waiting.

“We wanted to win the title or at worst do better than we did last season,” Pirates’ director of rugby Bobby Musinguzi told Daily Monitor. 

Pirates have given it a good shot by pushing Heathens, who have been two steps ahead.

A close look at Pirates stats reflects they are posting better numbers than ever before according to Musinguzi. They are scoring more and defending better, which spells progress for Musinguzi despite struggling in some areas.