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Uganda: Just Half the Battle
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The Weekly Observer (Kampala)
27 March 2008
Posted to the web 27 March 2008
Robert Madoi
Defending champions utl Kobs had a stranglehold on that bottle of extra virgin Tuscan olive oil as they together with seven other outfits converged at the cooking table during the first round of this year's Guinness Super Eight Rugby League.
Kobs barely broke a sweat en route to winning all their seven first round games. But the second round may be a different proposition altogether. Both MTN Heathens and G4S Pirates believe they have the mojo that can loosen Kobs' grip on that bottle of olive oil.
Heathens' chance to prove that they are by far better cooks than Kobs comes early - this Saturday. A fantasist's delight it will be when the two adversaries size up each other in the second round opener at Kobs' backyard - Kampala RFC. Kobs and Heathens are like two veteran Samurais who know every tiny detail about each other.
For starters, Heathens know that Kobs have an exceptionally good backline. They are also aware that their opponents love to play an expansive brand of rugby.
Kobs also know that their bitter foes delight in playing a forwards-oriented game; that they love pummeling their opponents into submission with their weighty pack. But most importantly, Kobs know that a loss in Saturday's derby against Heathens is an utter no-no.
The derby has been earmarked by many pundits as one of three watershed matches that will have a hand in the destiny of the league title. If Kobs beat Heathens on Saturday, then it will pretty much be title race over.
All Kobs will have to do, in the eventuality that they beat Heathens, is to win all their winnable games against the Niles of this world until they face off with Pirates on matchday 14 when the league's itinerary grinds to a halt.
Still in the same vein of the aforesaid eventuality, that match itself could well be academic if Pirates fail to win away at Heathens on matchday 10 in a fortnight's time.
Put simply, whichever way you look at it, Kobs go into the second round as odds-on favourites to win the league. This, however, hasn't stopped their coach Fred Mudoola from preaching caution. He keeps talking of "keeping our feet on the ground" and "we shouldn't get carried away yet."
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And he could just be right. Heathens are something of perennial masters in the art of nicking titles when written off by many. Having straddled the divide between success and failure on several occasions, Heathens players will go into the second round with a been-there-done-it swagger that could well drag them to glory.
The same cannot be said of Pirates whose coach Herbert Wafula has made it the worst kept secret that "inexperience" has cost his side on many occasions. Wafula used the same word when Pirates lost at home to Heathens and Kobs in the first round.
With that, it's pretty safe to put this weekend's derby in the title decider bracket. If Kobs win, it's title race over. Conversely, a Heathens win will in the words of a typical neutral, "make things quite interesting."
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