A blistering first half in Bweyogerere inspired Black Pirates to a 57-28 bonus-point win over Plascon Mongers.
The Nile Special Premiership match result put them level on points with KOBs, who struggled to put away Toyota Buffaloes.
The Pirates scored 8 of their 9 tries on the day in the first half, with speedster Atukunda registering a hat-trick as the highlight performer.
The Mongers registered four tries in the second to attempt a comeback, but it wasn’t enough to deny the Pirates the only winning bonus point of the weekend.
Buffaloes deny KOBs a bonus point win
The KOBs, on the other hand, had to wither a stubborn Buffaloes side to win 31-25 and keep the top spot on the table on point difference.
The home side saw a 21-03 lead slim down so fast to 21-15 before they pushed it further to 31-15.
The Buffaloes just wouldn’t go away, and they scored 10 more points to deny KOBs the bonus point and put the Pirates right at their noses, setting up a mouthwatering title decider in less than two weeks.
The Pirates will host new boys Walukuba next weekend, while KOBs will entertain Impis in anticipation of the season finale.
Heathens surrendered their title defense after mastering only 7 points against Jinja Hippos and falling further behind the leading pack.
Impis wins as Rams stay bottom
Henry Nsekuye marked his return to the Makerere Impis starting 15 with a win to snap a long losing run.
The dry spell which had started to threaten the progress the team put together at the start of the season finally came to an end.
The Mulago Rams more or less confirmed they won’t be in the premiership next season after suffering their 15th loss of the season.
And now, they find themselves needing 10 points to stay safe with the Kyadondo sides Heathens and Buffaloes as their remaining fixtures.
The Rams will be hoping that all hell breaks loose for the Rhinos, who travel to the Hippos and Mongers’ grounds to end the season.
By: James Kavuma
Courtesy Photos
