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Potential early banana skins for Heathens, Hippos

Toyota Buffaloes flyhalf Liam Walker prepares to take a Kick against Jinja Hippos. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE 

What you need to know:

Defending champions Heathens travel to Jinja to face the Walukuba Barbarians. While Heathens have consistently beaten their hosts, their victories in the past two seasons at this venue have not come easily.

A one-leg round-robin Uganda Rugby Premiership leaves little room for error forcing teams to treat every match with utmost importance.

This reality will weigh heavily on the minds of Heathens and Jinja Hippos this afternoon when they crisscross each other to Jinja and Kyadondo, for their respective fixture from week two.

The stakes are high, as the top four teams at the end of the regular season advance to face the mid-four in the quarterfinal playoffs.

Therefore the final position at the end of the regular season matters a lot, especially with the entrance of Victoria Sharks who have made their intentions in their debut season clear – hunting for the title.

Defending champions Heathens travel to Jinja to face the Walukuba Barbarians. While Heathens have consistently beaten their hosts, their victories in the past two seasons at this venue have not come easily.

“We don’t expect to go and get it easy,” Heathens coach Mohammed Athiyo told Saturday Sports. “We must work hard for it because they have grown in experience and have belief but we are improving every day.”

Hippos in Sharks' Waters

At Kyadondo, Sharks will face their first real test of the season when they host Jinja Hippos in the match-of-the-day. Sharks made waves with their marquee signings and a glamourous unveiling but their narrow 22-16 win over Eagles exposed their inadequacies.

“We got the win but did not play the way we wanted because there was too much individual play which we need to improve,” the team’s head coach Ivan Makmot told FatCats Podcast after the game.

Among the areas Makmot, who spent a season coaching Hippos in 2021, must improve include their game management, sluggish back row, molding his star-studded lineup into a unit and instill leadership.

 “We’re not changing much but we need to sit down and dedicate leadership to know who is taking charge of the pack and control of the backline,” he said ahead of today’s clash.

Jinja Hippos finished second in the regular season last year but have work to do. They narrowly escaped defeat with a win over Buffaloes in the opening game in Jinja last week. They should continue banking on the skills of Yasin Wasswa who was arguably the best player from game week one after collecting a total of 20 points in his new position as a ten.

In the other games, Tororo will make history with the first premiership game as Elgon Wolves host Black Pirates at Elgon View.

The match was scheduled to be hosted in Mbale, but Give Rugby Foundation, an organization that partners with Tororo Rugby Community, funded the team to host from the border town. Regional league side Kakira Simbas and Tororo Crests will play Bungoma and Kisumu RFCs in curtain-raiser fixtures before the premiership clash. 

2025 UGANDA RUGBY PREMIERSHIP 

Saturday men fixtures – 4pm

Elgon Wolves vs. Pirates - Tororo

Walukuba vs. Heathens - Jinja

Mongers vs. Buffaloes - Entebbe

Eagles vs. Rhinos - Kitante

Warriors vs. KOBs - Legends

Victoria vs. Hippos – Kyadondo

Friendly build-ups - Tororo

Kakira Simbas vs. Bungoma RFC - 12pm

Tororo Crests vs. Kisumu RFC  - 2pm

Women’s fixtures – 2pm

Thunderbirds vs. Panthers - Kyadondo

Avengers vs. She Wolves - Entebbe

Ewes vs. Nile Rapids - Makerere