If you thought the regular season of the 2024 Nile Special (Men’s) Rugby Championship was exciting and unpredictable, then the playoffs will be filled with even more drama.
This guide contains all the information you need to know about the Championship Playoffs; when & where they will be played, the road to the final, and where & how you can watch the matches. We have also added a brief about the participating teams and other places you can go for interesting content in the build-up to the playoffs.
A guide for the Relegation Playoffs will drop in the week preceding kickoff.
Enjoy!
When are the championship playoffs?
This season’s championship playoffs will begin at the quarterfinal stage, followed by the semifinals and the final. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played over two home-and-away rounds.
Before going into the fine details, it is important to note that some matches in the upcoming playoffs will be played on Saturdays and Sundays.
The first round of the quarterfinals will be on Saturday, April 27. The lower-seeded teams will have home advantage in the first round. The second round will be on the weekend of May 4-5 at the home grounds of the teams who were visitors in the first round.
VenueFixture (Home vs Away)QF 1Busambaga, EntebbeMongers vs KOBsQF 2Abel Dhaira Memorial StadiumWalukuba vs HeathensQF 3Kyadondo Rugby ClubBuffaloes vs HipposQF 4Legends Rugby GroundsRhinos vs PiratesFixtures for the first round of the playoffs quarterfinals. All matches will kick off at 4 p.m. EAT (local time).
The team with the highest aggregate score in its respective quarterfinal after both rounds will progress to the semifinal stage.
The semifinals will be played on the May 10-11 and May 18-17 weekends. Similarly, after both rounds, the team with the highest aggregate score in its respective semifinal will progress to the championship final.
Interactive data visualisation. Select any team to see their path to the final.
The championship final will be played on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at a yet-to-be-confirmed venue.
How & where you can watch the matches:
Kawowo Sports will continue to broadcast select matches via live stream on our YouTube channel. Highlights of other matches will be available on our social media pages.
A brief look at the teams:
Played 11, won 10, drew 1, and lost 0. Heathens Rugby Club were simply unplayable in the regular season. They easily topped the table with forty-seven points, seven more than the team in second place and a points difference more than the other two podium finishers could manage. They are overwhelming favourites to add a second title to their trophy cabinet this year.
Jinja Hippos shook the status quo of Ugandan rugby by being the first team to enter the top three class of Heathens, Kobs, and Pirates since 2018. But they surprisingly dropped points in the last match against Mongers although it did not affect their final position. Nonetheless, they carry enough momentum to see them go far into the playoffs.
Despite there being no doubt that Black Pirates and KOBs would make it for the playoffs, both had a regular season they wish to forget. Pirates struggled away from home and got slapped on the wrist by Mongers and Buffaloes. KOBS lost, inevitably, to those that finished above them and drew with Buffaloes at home. However, knockout rugby is where Pirates and KOBs thrive best and they will show up when it matters most.
On the other hand, Mongers and Buffaloes blew hot and cold. It was difficult to predict which team would turn up on matchday. For example, they both beat Pirates but dropped points against Walukuba. But eventually, they settled where they are comfortable – in the mid-table. Their matches will be the continuation of this season’s drama into the playoffs.
Rhinos made hay while the sun shone. They started the regular season with five successive victories and topped the table. But after that, they lost five successive matches and slid down the table to eighth place. Beating Eagles on the final day lifted them back up to sixth. Still, whether on a good or a bad day, they will be a hard nut to crack.
Walukuba Barbarians’ season can only be described as “so close yet so far”. They played entertaining and structured rugby but somehow, victory was snatched from their grasp in the dying moments of some matches; like against Heathens and Rhinos. If they can fix challenges like going off the script and choosing the harder options for points, they might just be able to pull it off, only just.
Where to find good content…
Through this week, please follow and be part of the conversations on the playoffs with the Fat Cats Podcast. You will find statistics and historical trivia from Isa Metrics on Twitter/X. Nnalubaale Sports and the mainstream media houses also provide interesting viewpoints with their rugby coverage.
This is Championship Week!
The post Our Guide to the 2024 Nile Special Rugby Men’s Championship Playoffs appeared first on Kawowo Sports.
