Buffaloes Rugby Club are still chasing their first major title in Ugandan rugby. And as they prepare to face the Heathens this weekend in the Uganda Cup semifinals, they remain upbeat about their chances.
Coach Andrew Owor, who has handled most of the Uganda Cup duties while head coach Charles Onen focuses on the Lady Rugby Cranes, said, “We are looking forward to the game on Saturday with confidence. We believe that once we play to our full potential, we can do great things. Hopefully, it will be enough to get us past the Heathens.”
During the Nile Special Premiership, the Uganda Rugby Union’s top tier 15s league, the Buffaloes were among the few teams that beat the Heathens. That result should give a major lift to the young and energetic Buffaloes side heading into the weekend.
But Owor was quick to caution that while that win earlier in the year helps psychologically, they cannot afford to be complacent. He noted that the circumstances then and now are quite different. Besides, the Heathens, who knocked out the Rams in the quarterfinals on Sunday 23 November, are still unbeaten in the Uganda Cup.
The Buffaloes cannot say the same. During the group stage, they lost 14 to 16 to Kobs in a match they led for much of the second half before letting it slip.
Reflecting on that loss, Owor admitted they were disappointed. “We had a good game generally. We had so many opportunities to finish it off, but we did not take them. Overall, the games we have lost have come from avoidable mistakes. We must limit them if we are to achieve big things going forward,” Owor said.
Even so, the Buffaloes will likely be the toughest opponents the Heathens have faced so far in this cup run. And given how competitive the Buffaloes have been throughout the tournament, it is difficult to count them out.
Add in their strong Sevens Championship performance, where they finished second to the Walukuba Barbarians in September, and it is clear they are a good team ready to test the Heathens’ pedigree.
