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Toyota Buffaloes pulled off a sensational upset on Saturday afternoon, defeating KCB KOBs 17-7 in the first leg of the Uganda Rugby Premiership quarterfinals at Kyadondo Rugby Club.
Despite being the underdogs heading into the match, Buffaloes held their nerve and delivered a composed, clinical performance to take a crucial 10-point advantage into the second leg.
KOBs struck first, taking the lead inside the opening 15 minutes through an Adrian Mutebi try, which was successfully converted by Joseph Aredo.
However, two missed penalties by Aredo proved costly, as KOBs failed to extend their early lead. Buffaloes remained within reach, with Liam Walker slotting in a penalty to make it 3-7 before halftime.
The momentum shifted in the second half when Ronald Kanyanya crashed over the line to give Buffaloes the lead. In the dying minutes, Omara Raymond delivered the knockout blow, running half the length of the pitch and scoring under the posts. Walker calmly slotted both conversions to seal a famous 17-7 victory.
“It’s been a bad season for us so far,”said Liam Walker after the match.
“A lot of people were writing us off, saying Buffaloes had no chance, but we had to go out and prove everyone wrong. We played a territorial game, spent a lot of time in their half, and defensively we were quite solid. KOBs made a lot of mistakes, and we managed to capitalize on them.”
Buffaloes had finished seventh in the regular season and entered the tie as clear underdogs against the second placed KOBs. Walker, however, warned that the job is far from done.
“Ten points is very easy to make up, so we have to work on our weaknesses and go even harder next weekend,”he added. “KOBs are wounded and will come at us stronger.”
KOBs head coach Timothy Mudoola remained optimistic ahead of the return leg.
“It’s us who handed that victory to them,” Mudoola said.
“They didn’t have to work hard for it, but they showed more hunger and that’s what it takes to force a better team into mistakes. Those 10 points can be closed within the first 20 minutes. We just need to get our heads in the right place.”
Elsewhere Jinja Hippos defeated Rhinos 11-20 at Legends and Standbic Black Pirates won 20-27 against Walukuba Barbarians at the Abel Dhaira grounds in Jinja. All the second leg games will be played next Saturday, 12th April.
