Learning from defeat – The Observer

The Jinja Hippos rugby club will turn their focus on trying to win the rugby sevens championship over the next few months, after they missed out on the Nile Special Rugby Premiership title last Saturday, May 10 at the King’s Park arena, Bweyogerere.

A 23-44 defeat to the Stanbic Black Pirates, after extra-time, was what the Hippos had to contend with. Yet, Tony Khadambi, scorer of one of their two tries against the Pirates, still saw a silver lining even in defeat. He said that pushing the Pirates that far and hard did not only prove what a good side they had been.

But that they had also achieved beyond the expectations of many. However, owing to how well the Jinja Hippos had executed their game plan in the final game, holding their forte and keeping the Pirates at bay for long spells of regulation time, they will be haunted by the fact that they could not get over the finish line, to register their maiden league title, which was five minutes away.

Charles Onen, the Lady Rugby Cranes coach, noted that the difference between the Pirates and the Hippos was the squad depth.

“When Pirates coach Marvin Odongo realized that his starting 15 was not executing as well as he had wanted, he turned to his bench. There, he had a host of players to call on, who turned the game on its head,” Onen said.

For example, Onen added, Ivan Magomu and Jones Kamiza came off the bench and managed to get tries for Pirates, which were game-changing. When Pirates front row players, particularly the props, Alema Ruhweza and Ariho Muhumuza got tired, they were able to bring on Raymond Lubega and Alvin Rukundo, to great effect.

All the aforementioned players added to Pirates’ energy levels, athleticism and speed, particularly in the 30 minutes of extra-time, while Hippos could hardly change much. In fact, some of the key Hippos players such as Fahad Maidoo, the captain, were walking wounded throughout extra-time.

That affected Maido’s application, which inevitably weakened Hippos’ scrummaging and ability to secure significant ball carries. Essentially, without the required squad depth, Hippos’ promise to win this year’s premiership title fell short. Remember, for much of this season, it has been the same players, by and large, having to do the donkey work.

At the top level, having many options to call on is of the essence. Yet, with a deep evaluation of the Hippos squad, one will realize that more often than not, James Okello, Maidoo and Paul Siringiti have played all the games. It reaches a time, when the bodies give way, as that extra time proved.

With a heavy heart, Hippos coach Edmond Inyoyi admitted as much. Rugby did not stop over the weekend. Within no time, another 15s season will be here, beginning with the knock-out Uganda Cup later this year.

By then, he will probably have found some new players to beef up his squad, which for many observers, is imperative. But at the same time, other rugby analysts believe that more playtime should be given to the fringe players.

This will enable them get used to the tough grind in the top flight. A case in point, the winning Pirates side went through the season rotating their squad often. This enabled the fringe players get used to the competition, hence maintaining the team’s strength even with alterations.

It should be noted that for a while, the Pirates did not field their usual starting three front rowers when Ruhweza and Nathan Bwambale were injured. The other options of Samuel Lubwama and Umar Duff also came in handy.

Also, Arnold Rukundo, Humphrey Tashobya and Isaac Massanganzira have had their spells out of the team for a range of reasons. But the team was unfazed due to their depth. That said, Hippos’ Inyoyi felt that to a certain extent, they did not seize the moments to put paid to Pirates’ hopes, when they provided themselves.

Coming into the final, so much praise was made about Hippos’ scrum and its power to subdue opponents. They had done that to everyone, including Pirates in the regular season, and also to the Kobs, during their semifinal clash.

However, in the final last week, Pirates were a totally different team in the pack. They were no pushovers like had been earlier. That should have prompted the Hippos to change tact each time they were awarded a penalty.

Instead of insisting on the pushing, maybe choosing to kick for poles would have sufficed. More points secured through the penalty kicks would have stretched their lead, and ended up frustrating the Pirates.

But for the longest period of the second half in regulation time, the difference between the two teams was just five points, which is equivalent to a try. And as it turned out, a late try levelled matters, which forced extra time.

In the end, the beautiful story that had been written by the Hippos, ready to jump for the sky in celebration, was nullified by the unbreakable spirit of the Pirates, built on the foundation of having a young and deep squad!