Can Jinja Hippos defy odds again in National Rugby 7s?

Nine months on since they were crowned the National 7s champions, Jinja Hippos rugby club will this weekend set out to defend their title. And what better place to kick-start that campaign than at their home? July 1-2 will see the first of seven rounds of the 2023 Nile Special sponsored 7s championship takes place at the Dam Waters in Jinja, the home of the Hippos.

“No one expected us to win last year. And I am not going to say that we are going to win it this time for sure. Yet, what I can guarantee, as we did last year, is give every game all the fight in us, so that we win,” Jinja Hippos coach Saidi Atibu said.

Although winning boosts one with confidence, and Atibu feels they have lots of it going into their title defence, he insisted that the team remains unassuming.

“We will be facing top opposition that are hungry for success and are undoubtedly capable. I imagine every focus is going to be on us because every other team will want to dethrone us,” added Atibu.

From last year’s success, Dennis Etwau, Hippos full-back noted that they had learnt a lot especially as far as the kind of temperament one needs to go the distance. In addition, Etwau said that understanding how to succeed under pressure was always a big test of their character.

“What we did, was not to allow the pressure get to our heads. Instead, we just went about every game, enjoying ourselves. But also, the will to prove that we were as good as anyone in the championship, gave us a real lift,” Etwau, who was one of the best players in the 7s last year, said. 

In fact, Etwau’s exploits, then, saw him secure a national 7s team call-up, which has seen him be part of its international engagements in Dubai and South Africa over the last few months. And no doubt, Hippos' success has duly rubbed off Etwau while on the international stage.

The suggestion that domestic success has actually had an impact would not be misplaced. Etwau has not been at his club this year as much as he has been with the national 7s set-up. Such is his determination and resilience. And maybe, that is what defined Hippos, as one moment of sheer relentlessness proved decisive in their 7s title-winning campaign.

It is a thin line between success and failure. But one particular occasion last year determined that Hippos would be champions, and had it not panned out, the script would have been different. If anything, it all shows what an unlikely winner they were.

During the Kyabazinga 7s, the only round of the championship that was played at the Bugembe stadium in Jinja, in what is considered Hippos territory, match-day two was interrupted by a heavy downpour. The pitch conditions became difficult, making it hard to play good rugby.

It was the quarter-final stage where Hippos had a date with the Plascon Entebbe Mongers. Against the form book, Mongers had a 7-0 halftime lead and Hippos were on the brink of elimination from the circuit title conversation. On the other half of the draw, Pirates, Kobs, and Heathens, who led the overall standings had comfortably navigated the water-logged Bugembe stadium well and were in the semi-finals.

Hippos, on the other hand, were staring defeat in the face until a second-half fight with about two minutes on the clock left, drew them level. But that, too, was not enough. They had to win outright, to enter the semi-finals. The game went into sudden death, as the heavens also opened again. It was difficult times for the two sides - most especially for Hippos who were playing at home.

They needed something dramatic because Mongers had dug in and were really sturdy in defence. Yet, as they say, cometh the hour, cometh the man. Soon after the kick-off of extra time, Hippos piled on the pressure, as the ball landed in the hands of their star centre in the 15s, Tawfik Bagalana. 

Bagalana, then looked on the blind side and kicked the ball towards the try-line of Mongers for Etwau to chase. But right ahead of Etwau was Mongers’ star, Edgar Kairu, who had enjoyed a good game, especially on the breakdowns, picking up the ball from the racks, and circulating it smartly. 

Kairu had the ball in his sight, as it landed down near his try-line. The ball was easily skidding off the green because of how wet it was. But at the same time, because the ground was heavy, there seemed no cat in hell’s chance that Etwau would be able to overcome the heavy ground to go past Kairu, to meet the ball in time.

However, Etwau defied all odds and laboured past Kairu as the ball headed out. Yet, in total disbelief, Etwau, just like those deep sea divers, lifted his body off the ground, only to dive for the ball on the line, before it went out, where it would be considered dead by the referees, and made it 12-7 for Hippos.

As Mongers collapsed in tears, the drama that unfolded saw Hippos celebrate their way into the semi-finals, where they faced the Pirates. But considering how they had made it that far, they seemed destined. No moment, in last year’s 7s championship, was as definitive and unforgettable as that. Etwau said he still has to pinch himself to believe what he did then because it is still so good to have been true.

Hippos went on to beat the Pirates in the semi-finals, meeting Kobs, who had dislodged the overall table-topping Heathens in the other semi-final. Kobs’ victory over Heathens, is what gave the Jinja Hippos an opportunity to top the overall standings, out of the blue. Yet, still, few gave them a chance, that the Jinja Hippos would be that lucky.

Kobs were the 7s two-time defending champions having won it in 2019 and 2021. The 7s were not played in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the guess is that if it had been played, Kobs would still have been unstoppable. Surprisingly, Hippos also went further to defy the odds and beat Kobs in the Kyabazinga 7s final, 12-0. Etwau was again the man that did the damage with two tries in a lake of water, as Bugembe stadium had turned into.

Interestingly, that was the only round of the 7s championship that the Hippos won, which supports the narrative of the unlikely winner strongly. The first round was won by Pirates before Heathens won two rounds on the bounce. Following that, Kobs emerged from the dead, to win the next two rounds, before the Jinja Hippos won the sixth round.

While the seventh and final round was won by the Pirates, Hippos had done the job, just making it to the finals ahead of Heathens. But the unfolding of events just showed how consistency was all that got Hippos over the line. Having started off fifth in the first circuit, Hippos were second in four of the other six circuits. They finished third in one and first in the other, to complete a fairytale run.

For a small team that Jinja Hippos are, predominantly made up of players groomed and nurtured in Jinja, they were unlikely heroes. To win their first national silverware amidst the challenge of Heathens, Kobs, and the Stanbic Black Pirates, who are the more established statesmen of Ugandan rugby, remains incredible. 

Until Hippos won, all the previous national sevens championships had been won by Kampala sides, predominantly Heathens and Kobs. Pirates, Impis, and the Toyota Buffaloes are just among the outliers in one-offs since the inception of the 7s championship in 1996.     

Nevertheless, being crowned as the best sevens team in the land was such a monumental time in the life of these players, who were turning out for a club marking a decade of existence this year. But now, the time has come again, to show that they were not a flash in the pan!

2001-2005: Heathens
2006: Kobs
2007-2009: Heathens

2010: Impis

2015-2017: Kobs

2020: Not Played due to Covid-19