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How Hippos are replacing Etwau, missing stars
Give Me Way. Hippos’ Brighton Bakasa charges against Pirates in the first leg of the playoffs. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
The team has lost some key players but somehow found their way back with new replacements from their bottomless pit of talent.
Missing a key player in a team is like driving a car with wheels off, someone once said. Over the years, Jinja Hippos have learnt this the hard way but found a way around it.
The team has lost some key players but somehow found their way back with new replacements from their bottomless pit of talent.
Hippos' run to the 2022 Nile Special National 7s title was largely credited to teamwork but one man stood out - Denis Etwau.
Etwau’s brilliant run was both a boon and a challenge for the team, depending on how you view it. Since that 2022 achievement, the winger, nicknamed Gasman for his speed and agility, and his teammate Timothy Mugisha have been regulars in the national rugby sevens team.
This year, Etwau debuted in the HSBC World Rugby Challenger series in Dubai early in January. He is one of the country's finest finishers, solidifying his position as an important cog in the national setup. That has kept him away from the Hippos throughout the season.
The 26-year-old has a bright foreseeable future ahead of him. The team’s head coach Tolbert Onyango retained him for the Munich series that is taking place today and tomorrow even as he relieved a good number of his stars.
Definitely, the Hippos army miss him, but they seem to have patched his void based on their performance.
“We learnt from previous experience that we cannot depend on particular players so we came up with a strategy to develop as many players as we can for a particular position,” Hippos coach Edmond Quaresma explains.
“Our structure has given us depth in the squad and is built in a way that we train the players to be versatile so that whoever is picked fits easily. You can see that Elvis Opira, Brighton Bakasa and Bruno Kisule have tried to fill the void left by Etwau,” he explains further.
Etwau and Mugisha are not the only stars missing in their equation this year. Their former captain Tawfiq Bagalana has been tied abroad while Jacob Ocen only returned for the playoffs.
Their top kicker Yassin Wasswa was ruled out with an injury before playoffs but Opira has already become a fans' favourite after only three games.
On Saturday, the team travels for the second leg of their championship quarterfinal against Pirates at Kings Park. Quaresma and his captain Aziz Bagalana bank on the available squad to build on their 28-27 win from Jinja last weekend to reach the final.
The winner of this game will face the better team between Heathens and Kobs who face each other at Kyadondo.
Nile Special Rugby Championship
Semifinal playoffs second leg – 4 pm
Pirates vs. Hippos (27-28) - Kings Park
Relegation playoff - 2 pm
Warriors vs. Rams - Legends
Core status playoff fixtures
Kigezi vs. Gulu City Falcons - Kabale
Elgon Wolves vs. Victoria - Mbale
