Bamburi Rugby Super Series- Uganda Chapter

BRSS finals: UAP Rhinos Vs. Dimension Data Rwenzori, Saturday 2nd June, 2012, RFUEA ground Nairobi...lets go witness as the men are separated from the boys...

Thank you, thank you, thank you..to all those who braved the rains last Saturday to give support to the two Ugandan franchises, KCB Victoria and Dimension Data Rwenzori at Kyadondo. Congratulations to Dimension Data Rwenzori who booked themselves into the semi-finals next weekend, playing against Cheetahs from Kenya. The game will be taking place in Kampala and for the first time, Uganda will host a semi final of the BRSS, which will also be live on DSTV's SuperSport...watch out for more details and updates..

Nairobi, Thursday 17 May 2012

Match Day three at the 10th edition of the Bamburi Rugby Super Series takes place on Saturday 19 May 2012 with four matches on the cards. There will be two Pool A fixtures at Nairobi's Jamhuri Park, and two other Pool B fixtures in the Kenyan Central Rift Valley town of Nakuru and the Ugandan captial Kampala.

We start our BRSS match day three preview in Nairobi.

The already eliminated duo of Nguvu Sharks and the Coastal Bulls face off in the day's opening fixture at the Jamhuri Park from 2.00pm, East African Time. The Nguvu Sharks 2012 campaign came to a halt when they succumbed to a second straight loss to the Lions on match day two, the 15-8 result meaning Paul Odera's charges would not be returning to the semi finals.

The Sharks will come into this fixture playing for pride, looking to end their 2012 Bamburi Rugby Super Series campaign on a high. For the Coastal Bulls, their sophomore campaign has seen them grow in leaps and bounds. While they are yet to win a BRSS match to date, the experience they have picked up is nothing short of valuable. Bearing that in mind, they will definitely come all out against the Sharks, hoping to pull off a favorable result.

The already qualified duo of the SDV Transami Cheetahs and the Lions meet in the 4.00pm kick off at Jamhuri Park. Having won their opening two matches against the Bulls and Sharks in particular order, and creating an unassailable lead between them and the rest of the pack,it is a given that both teams have made it to the BRSS semi finals but this doesn't water down the significance of this tie. Qualifying top of Pool A will be key for both sides, and this is very likely to influence team selection with either side's technical bench putting out their strongest available sides. This should be an closely contested encounter, the team that emerges victorious here is a sure bet to make it all the way to the championship match on Saturday 2 June 2012 at the RFUEA grounds.

Shifting our focus to Pool B and the top of the bill clash is what is being refered to in Uganda as " the BRSS true clash of the titans" pitting KCB Victoria against Dimension Data Rwenzori at the Kyadondo Rugby grounds from 4.00pm East African Time. Victoria bounced back from their match day one 46-9 defeat to the UAP Rhinos in Nairobi by registering a 17-7 away win over the Mumias Sugar Buffaloes in Mumias on match day two. With their noses scenting a semi final berth, Herbert Wafula's will leave nothing to chance against fierce rivals Rwenzori. Faisal Gamma and youngster Philip Wokorach will be some of the players to watch on the Victoria side.

Fresh from breaking the UAP Rhinos three year, 16 match unbeaten BRSS run with that 17-15 win on match day two,Dimension Data Rwenzori could statistically have done everything to book their semi final berth, but they would probably have to wary of the phrase, "it ain't over till its over." A whole combination of factors could see them not make it beyond the group stages. Bearing this in mind, they should come full throttle against their countrymen, looking to not only retain local bragging rights for the next twelve months but most importantly earn the chance to play their semi final encounter at home and the only way to achieve this is by, you guessed it, beating Victoria.

Steve Ogwete has been in fine form for Rwenzori, his tournament leading four tries part of the reason his side lead Pool B and he will be expected to replicate this form on Saturday. Justin Kimono, if selected, will make his eighth BRSS appearance since his debut late as he seeks to add to his BRSS career tally of six tries. It will be interesting to see how he does on Saturday, particularly as he seeks to outshine his fellow youngster Philip Wokorach on the Victoria side.

All in all this should be a battle royale.

The last fixture on the day is the 4.30pm Pool B kick off at the Nakuru Athletic Club where hosts and defending champions UAP Rhinos play the visiting Mumias Sugar Buffaloes in the 60th match since the tournament's inception in 2003. The Rhinos mission in Nakuru is straightforward,registering a win as they seek to earn qualification from Pool B, anything short of this complicates their onward movement and it would take a lot of phone calls, text messages and calculators to collect results from elsewhere and do the math to determine their fate. The Rhinos will be motivated to win and for good reason. They will seek to bounce back from the 17-15 loss to Rwenzori in Kampala, a result that saw them lose a BRSS match for the first time since the 33-9 loss to the Lions in the 2008 final. The champions must reassert themselves

Already out of contention after losing their opening two pool matches, the Buffaloes head to Nakuru looking to play the spoiler. They have shown glimpses of brilliance and will look to burst into life against the Rhinos. They will dig deep for the self belief to pull it off and end their official interest in the BRSS on a high.

In other Bamburi Rugby Super Series news, there will be a CSR activity at the National Spinal Injury Hospital on Sunday 20 May 2012 from 1.00pm. The exercise will entail a visit by members of the BRSS Organizing Committee, tournament sponsors ,players and representatives from the various franchises as well as wellwishers interested in being part of this activity. For further details about the CSR activity, kindly contact Josephine Nekesa Were via email address [email protected]

Collated Match Day Three Fixtures
Pool A
Nguvu Sharks v Coastal Bulls 2.00pm, Jamhuri Park, Nairobi, LIVE ON DSTV

SDV Transami Cheetahs v Lions, 4.00pm, Jamhuri Park, Nairobi, LIVE ON DSTV

Pool B
Dimension Data Rwenzori v KCB Victoria 4.00pm, Kyadondo RC, Kampala, LIVE ON DSTV

UAP Rhinos v Mumias Sugar Buffaloes, 4.30pm, Nakuru Athletic Club, Nakuru

DD Rwenzori Vs UAP Rhinos.....The VIP tent

Thank you all for coming to support Uganda's DD Rwenzori as they battled it out with Kenya's UAP Rhinos...and as it is, congrats to DD Rwenzori....any expectations for this coming weekend...predictions? KCB Victoria against DD Rwenzori????

More action on the pitch..

Great branding...

The Hima VIP tent..

The action starts