Kobs Rugby have thrown a spanner in the wax!

The KCB Kobs may be considered to have left it late in their quest to win the 2026 Nile Special Rugby Sevens championship.

After winning the Kyabazinga Sevens at the Bugembe stadium over the weekend, they were able to pull back on the points difference between them, Pirates and the Heathens.

Yet, despite accumulating 82 points, eight behind Heathens and four behind Pirates, they have heightened the anticipation among rugby fans, heading into the sevens season finale this weekend at Wankulukuku.

It is an uphill task for Kobs to upstage both Heathens and Pirates, yet that will not put them off. According to Josiah Ssempeke, who was impressive in the Kyabazinga Sevens, with his quick ball movement and distribution, as a team, they want to give it a real go and see how far they take the fight against their major nemeses.

For Kobs to beat Pirates and Heathens to the finish line, they must first and foremost win the Kabaka Coronation Circuit. That would bring Kobs an extra 22 points, and ultimately a total of 104 points.

In fact, for Kobs to ensure that Heathens do not win the ultimate prize, the latter must not make it past the quarter-final stage. The most points a team that is beaten at the quarter-final stage can accumulate, is 13 points.

If in any case that was Heathens, they would finish the championship on 103 points. Yet, since there is also the other matter of Pirates. For them to win, they must make sure that Heathens does not make the final.

But for Kobs to nullify Pirates, that can only happen if the latter does not make the final. That would mean that the total number of points Pirates can accumulate is 103. This would not be enough to upstage Kobs if they won top spot in Wankulukuku.

It is such twists and turns that should have a great number of rugby fans walking on egg shells this weekend. But for Kobs, it is a good feeling to believe that they can still win. Since winning the Mbarara Sevens circuit in 2024, Kobs had not won anything until last Sunday, September 13.

Yet, this is a team that won three successive Sevens championships between 2019 and 2021. Kobs player, Byron Oketayot said that it had been a long winless streak. Oketayot added: “Winning again is not only a relief, but a confidence boost for the younger players, who have won their first silverware.”

He continued that winning is what defines Kobs, and with the same mindset of fight and grind, there is no reason why they cannot complete the 2026 sevens season on a high.

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