Ismail Dhakaba Kigongo
27 February 2011
Kampala — At this point, MTN Heathens’ greatest enemy can only be themselves and complacency as the champions continue their stroll to a third straight Nile Special Rugby Premier League title. The worst part of this though is that they hardly know it save for the opposition that must be quaking following Heathens’ sixth straight bonus point victory.
Friday’s 33-0 rout of arch-rivals utl Kobs at Kampala RFC cemented both the fact that the gulf is widening and there is a decline at Uganda’s most successful club.
And Kobs’ captain Brian Odong painted an even darker picture. It’s only the second time in almost nine years that they failed to score in a game having lost 28-0 to Heathens in 2003. “They caught us cold. Right now, I wouldn’t be wrong to say that they are the best team and there’s nothing we could have done to stop them,” the prop said after failing to build on their two-match winning streak against Heathens.
In there lies the diagnosis but no prescription as Kobs were pounded by tries from Jonathan Bishop Onen (2), Jude Keremundu and Scot Oluoch. Throughout the painful 80 minutes for Kobs and endless ecstasy for Heathens, the latter dominated the scrum, picked all but one lineout and constantly found gaps in the opposition’s armour.
It may look unjust to say that the Kobs backline defended very well especially in the first half when the relentless barrage from the visitors wore them down. Coach Ronnie Lutakome, who came on at the break, must be struggling to find answers having missed his two best players this season -Allan Matsiko (finger) and Steven Ogwete (knee) – through injury.
However, the bigger worry for the Uganda Cup champions is that their No.9 and 10 have been far too inferior in the big games including the 21-17 victory over G4S Pirates. While they seek remedies, Heathens’ skipper Alex Mubiru was unsatisfied. “The score should have reached 50 if we were more clinical,” the hooker noted.
Today – Schools’ League
Hanav Budo(2pm)
Smack v Namilyango (12pm)
Kyambogov London (11am) Lango v Makerere (12pm)
AllAfrica – All the Time