After taking downtime for two weeks, the 2024 Nile Special Rugby Championship is embarking on the battle for survival in the Relegation Playoffs.
Unlike the Championship Playoffs, the Relegation Playoffs are pretty straightforward. Beat your opponent by aggregate score in two rounds, survive the drop.
A guide for the Championship Playoffs was published two weeks ago.
We have prepared this guide to equip you with all the information you need to know ahead of the Relegation Playoffs this Saturday.
Dive in!
What are the Relegation Playoffs?
Two teams will be relegated from the top flight championship into their respective regional championships at the end of the 2023-24 season. According to the tournament manual, which all the twelve teams in the championship signed, the two teams will be determined by a relegation playoff involving the bottom four ranked teams at the end of the championship regular season.
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These are; Eagles, Rams, Warriors, and Impis in that order.
Two home-and-away rounds will be played. The winners by aggregate score after the two rounds will maintain their places in the championship and the losers will be relegated.
The two teams to be promoted will be determined from a promotional playoff tournament that will involve winners of the four regional championships.
When & Where are the Fixtures?
The ninth-placed team (Eagles) will face the twelfth-placed team (Impis) while the tenth-placed team (Rams) will take on the eleventh-placed team (Warriors). This will be over two rounds on the weekends of May 11-12 and May 18-19.
Relegation Playoff 1: Eagles vs Impis
Relegation Playoff 2: Rams vs Warriors
The latest iteration of the fixtures from Uganda Rugby Union has one match on a Saturday and another on Sunday for both rounds of the Relegation Playoffs.
But sources close to Lugogo and the clubs intimate that there will be newer changes to these fixtures. Therefore, from experience, we recommend and advise that you wait up to Friday evening before confirming your plans for the weekend fixtures.
In case the two teams in the relegation playoffs are tied, there are processes in place to break the tie and determine the winning team.
After these two rounds of the Relegation Playoffs, there will be no further shootout for any of the teams, successful or not.
How & where you can watch the matches:
Kawowo Sports will broadcast select matches via live stream on our YouTube channel. Highlights of all other matches will be available on our social media pages.
A brief look at the teams:
Realistically speaking, Eagles ended up where they were expected to be; in the relegation playoffs. They were playing in their first top-flight season since gaining promotion in 2022-23. But they did better than their counterparts in purgatory by finishing in ninth place. This is in a significant part due to the club administration’s organisation which trickled down to the players on pitch.
Knockout rugby might be a different ball game altogether but this organisation could see them through the two rounds, as it did when they got promoted.
Rams and Warriors are the more experienced teams in the relegation playoffs. They have been in survival mode for so long that they actually thrive there. In such situations, experience is what usually makes the difference especially when there are second chances.
Warriors, particularly, have one unique quality that puts them apart from the rest; they are high-risk high-reward team who went toe to toe with teams in the championship playoffs. They scored twenty points or higher more times (4) than any other team (Impis – 3, Eagles – 2, and Rams – 1) in this relegation battle.
Rams, on the other hand, play the lowest risk brand of rugby in the championship. Which explains why they have the best record (2 wins out of 3) from meetings with the other relegation-threatened teams. The rest each had one win, but Impis and Warriors drew once.
Impis are at the lowest point in their rugby cycle: in transition from one generation of experienced and competitive players to another of rookies, most of whom are playing their first-ever senior rugby. That’s what has hurt the Makerere boys all season – that their best has been nowhere near good enough and it is no fault of their own.
It is likely to get worse. Unless the club elders who were on the sidelines can return to the frontline and get to work.
How did they perform against each other in the regular season?
Eagles beat Impis by 32-22 at home in Kitante in Round 8 and Rams beat Warriors by 23-17 in Round 11 at Makerere.
It is now time for survival.
The post Our Guide to the 2024 Nile Special Rugby Men’s Relegation Playoffs appeared first on Kawowo Sports.
