Saturday 2 June 2012 sees the curtains fall on the 10th edition of the Bamburi Rugby Super Series. We share a few fun facts and figures ahead of Saturday’s final.
The Rhinos are the most successful side in Rugby Super Series history to date, playing in seven previous finals,lifting the title five times. They are the only team to have successfully defended the title after beat the Cheetahs 25-5 to lift the 2010 title and are the first team to lift the title three times in a row, again beating the Cheetahs 20-15 in sudden death extra time in the 2011 final.
The Lions boast the unenviable record of most losses in a Rugby Super Series final.They lost four consecutive Rugby Super Series title matches between 2004 and 2007, eventually claiming their only title in 2008 with the biggest winning margin in an RSS final, a 33-9 win over the Rhinos.
The Cheetahs have won their only Rugby Super Series titles in even numbered years, 2004 and 2006.
The Buffaloes won the 2005 Rugby Super Series title, their only title to date.
Rwenzori is the first Ugandan side to go beyond the semi finals in four attempts since Uganda sides entered the Bamburi Rugby Super Series in 2009.
Daniel Kiptoo, Joel Ng’ang’a and Vincent Ongera (Rhinos) are the second most decorated players in Bamburi Rugby Super Series history, having featured on the title winning squads in 2003, 2007,2009,2010 and 2011. Ongera and Kiptoo are absent from this year’s event but Ng’ang’a has an opportunity to lift the trophy for a sixth time if his Rhinos side emerge victorious in Saturday’s final against Uganda’s Rwenzori, who are making their maiden appearance in a BRSS final.
Victor Sudi is the most decorated player in BRSS history, winning the title with the Cheetahs in 2004 and 2006, adding titles in 2007,2009,2010 and 2011 after moving to the Rhinos. He will be out to lift a seventh career BRSS crown
Previous Rugby Super Series Final Results
2003: Rhinos 27 Cheetahs 11
2004: Cheetahs 32 Lions 22
2005: Buffaloes 27 Lions 26
2006: Cheetahs 29 Lions 27
2007: Rhinos 28 Lions 20
2008: Lions 33 Rhinos 9
2009: Rhinos 30 Buffaloes 13
2010: Rhinos 25 Cheetahs 5
2011: Rhinos 20 Cheetahs 15 (this match was decided in sudden death extra time after both sides were tied 15-15 at the end of regulation time)
About Michael Kwambo
Correction: I have won superseries in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Victor Sudi