Walukuba Barbarians meet Stanbic Black Pirates in the Uganda Cup quarter-final at King's Park Bweyogerere on Saturday following their 40-21 round of 16 win over Kakira Simbas at the Ruck Yard.
Pirates advanced with a 43-3 victory over Mbale Elephants in Mbale where they honoured former teammate Sydney Gongodyo's mother with souvenirs.
The defending champions dedicated their June league triumph to Gongodyo after edging Buffaloes 31-30 in a tense final.
Walukuba have never beaten Pirates at King's Park in a 15s fixture and lost their last quarter-final second leg 28-0 after a 48-6 first leg defeat in May.
Pirates won all three meetings en route to their third league title in 2025 and Walukuba aim to reverse that trend this weekend.
Coach Leonard Lubambula insists his side are not in bad shape despite defensive lapses against Kakira attributed to five months without competitive 15s rugby.
Lubambula said they were dominant in the set-pieces at the Ruck Yard and plan to capitalise on the opportunity as they build towards the Enterprise Cup next year.
The argument doing the rounds in Kampala is whether Walukuba's returning stars can fix a leaky defence quickly enough to trouble a Pirates pack that has owned this fixture for years.
Key fixtures:
- Uganda Cup quarter-final: Stanbic Black Pirates vs Walukuba Barbarians, King's Park Bweyogerere, Saturday November 7
Recent head-to-head:
- 2025 league: Pirates won all three meetings
- May 2025 quarter-final second leg: Pirates 28-0 Walukuba
- May 2025 quarter-final first leg: Pirates 48-6 Walukuba
Round of 16 results:
- Walukuba Barbarians 40-21 Kakira Simbas (Ruck Yard)
- Stanbic Black Pirates 43-3 Mbale Elephants (Mbale)
Source: Uganda Observer
