2026 Enterprise Cup Semi Final Review

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Greetings. Over the weekend, Black Pirates hosted Nondescripts RFC from Kenya for an Enterprise Cup semifinal fixture. It was the first Enterprise Cup semifinal hosted in Uganda since the 1996 encounter between Kampala RFC and Kenya Harlequins. Pirates scored 3 tries to Nondies 2, to secure a first Enterprise Cup final for the Bweyogerere-based side.

It has been mentioned previously how Pirates have found difficulty in the second half, especially in the Premiership. In the tables presented below, Pirates are the most dominant first half team, however, their second half performance leaves them ranked one place above the relegation zone. In the Enterprise Cup, Pirates have scored 3 of their 4 tries in second half play. On the defensive end they have also conceded 4. Moving away from scoring, they have remained firm in defence, conceding a total of 4 second-half penalties in their two games against KCB and Nondies. In comparison, their opponents have conceded 16 penalties in the second half, with Nondies conceding 10 second half penalties on Saturday. 

When the game is divided into quarters, Pirates hit attacking peak in the middle half (second and third quarters). All Pirates tries were scored in the space between the 20th and 60th minutes of play. In that middle half, Pirates had gainline success on 22 carries compared to 12 from Nondies. Even the lineout success in the middle half was 6/8 (75%) compared to the their overall lineout performance of 66.67%.

In the scrumhalf duel, Nondies Ian Mumbwani was noticeably quick on supplying the ball from the ruck. Mumbwani picked the ball from 53 of Nondies' 74 rucks, compared to Conrad Wanyama's 43/52. Mumbwani had a ruck speed of less than 2 seconds on 54.7% of his rucks, reaching 61.1% in the first half alone. By comparison Wanyama had a ruck speed of less than 2 seconds on 51.16% of his rucks, and only 45% in the first half. Nondies had to be quick on the ball to avoid the Pirates blitz that hampered the KCB halfbacks in the quarterfinal.

 

Premiership First Half vs Second Half

 

After seven weeks of play in the Premiership, Pirates have been the most dominant team in the first half. In first half sessions this season, the defending champions have scored the most points, the most tries and conceded the fewest tries and fewest points. Kakira Simbas and Warriors are the only teams without a halftime lead so far, trailing by averages of 15.4 and 18.86 respectively at halftime. Despite leading at halftime in 5 of their games, Walukuba have only won 2 of those games, drawing once and losing on 2 occasions.

For all their impressive first half work, Pirates have not performed to a similar standard in the second half of games. Pirates have scored 14 tries (3rd), conceded 10 tries (5th most), and have outscored their opponents in the second half in 4 of 7 games. KOBs and Impis have scored more points than their opponents, 5 out of 7 games, more than any other team. No team has outscored KOBs in second half play, the closest being Victoria Sharks (both teams didn't score in the second half) and Impis (both teams scored 7 points each in the second half).

Cranes Chronometer

The review for Week 1 of the 2026 Premiership vowed to create a team of the Week focused on the top performers from each game week that were eligible to represent the Rugby Cranes. Uganda having only one team left in the Enterprise Cup, the duty of selecting the Cranes Chronometer for the Semifinal round (and subsequently the final) fell in the hands of the technical team headed by 3x Premiership winning coach Marvin Odong (twice as a coach and in 2018 as a player) and 2x Premiership winning Team Manager Isaac Kimeze. Of course all this is conditional upon Asuman Mugerwa's availability at Kabras Sugar RFC, and as it turns out over the weekend Mugerwa did not feature.

Without further ado, the Cranes Chronometer from the Enterprise Cup Semifinal round.


Possession Origin of Tries






Chasing History

🌟Black Pirates Rugby Football Club accomplished something that hasn't been done in 56 years. 1970 was the last time a non-Kenyan team participated in the Enterprise Cup final, when Kampala RFC completed their third title in a row. Pirates will meet Kabras Sugar RFC on 30th May at the iconic RFUEA Grounds on Ngong Road, Nairobi.

🌟Between 2021 and 2023, Heathens played 45 Premiership games losing only 3 games (Pirates x2 in 2023 and KOBs in 2021); a 93.33% win rate and no draw. Since the 2024 Premiership, Heathens have played 38 Premiership games up to 2026 Week 7 and have lost 9 games (Pirates x3, KOBs x2, Buffaloes x2, Hippos and Impis); a 71.05% win rate and 2 draws. Heathens host Rhinos in Week 6, a team they have not lost to since 2018. Rhinos have won only once in their 7 games so far, whereas Heathens have 4 wins out of 7 played.

🌟Rasul Abiriga enters Week 8 on 93 points, needing just 7 more to become the first player to record 100 points this season. Last season, William Nkore reached 100 points in Week 8 and in 2024 it took 9 weeks for Robin Odrua to score 100 points. In 2023 Ivan Magomu was the first player to reach 100 points, concluding Week 14 with 111 points.

🌟Gift Wokorach makes his 50th Premiership appearance for Walukuba Barbarians. In his debut Premiership season in 2023, he featured in 16 of 18 games, starting 15. He has since started 48 games of a total of 49 Premiership appearances. He is the club's top points scorer, amassing 284 points in the Premiership since 2023, a total of 5 tries and a goal success rate of 64.47% on 152 attempts at goal.



Ceteris. Paribus.

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