The Walukuba Barbarians retained their Kabaka Coronation 7s on Sunday at Kyadondo Rugby Grounds.
The boys from the East won this title last year at the Mutees II Stadium, Wankulukuku, when the tournament was played on an invitational basis, but this year they join the likes of the Black Pirates and KOBs as the sides to have won the royal championship during the National 7s Series.
This Coronation 7s edition could be summed up in just two fixtures; Heathens Vs Walukuba. The two sides were drawn in Pool A, alongside the Kampani Eagles and the Kisubi Pacers, making the former duo the favourites to proceed to the quarterfinal stage of the tournament.
In the first of two thrilling fixtures, Walukuba prevailed in dramatic fashion, defeating the Heathens 17-07. This game saw the sanctioning of Walukuba’s Reuben Kagwisagye post-game, and a yellow card to Heathens’ Julius Oyuk and Daniel Otema each, while Ivan Bulima’s two yellow cards almost went unnoticed by the officials.
In the final, the Heathens drew first blood, with Julius Oyuk scoring an unconverted try. This was their last try for the game. Walukuba soon responded when Ivan Bulima made a run of his life down the right wing, getting into the try area but passing to Gift Wokorach who was better positioned to score in between the poles. The try scorer then converted to bring the score to 07-05 for Walukuba. It was one way traffic in the second half as the Barbarians grew more confident and added 12 unanswered points.
The Shock Defeats
The Black Pearls were the first giants to taste defeat on Day 1 of the Coronation 7s. They lost 10-15 to the invitational side, the Ewes, and this was only the beginning of the Black Pearls’ woes. They went on to lose the rest of their games against the Walukuba Titans and the Thunderbirds.
Another team that was a shell of themselves are the Jinja Hippos. If any Ugandan rugby fan told you that they recognised both the players fielded and their style of play, they would be lying. The Hippos that showed up to Kyadondo last Saturday and Sunday lost all their pool games and only won one game on Day 2.
Elsewhere, the Rams shocked the KOBs on Day 1 while the Buffaloes eliminated the Black Pirates at the Quarterfinal stage. The Buffaloes who lost to the Rhinos in Round 3 of Day 1, got their sweet revenge in the 3rd place playoff, winning 17-0 and securing a cash prize of 1 Million Uganda Shillings.
It is quite clear that all the sides are struggling with a bit of rust and depleted squads. Once they get their groove on as the National 7s advance, and they welcome back some of their star players, we shall have an enthralling series on our hands.
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