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The loss was Walukuba's fourth and will hope to find the rhythm that will see them accumulate points that will play apart in their relegation battles.
Walukuba Barbarians' hopes of a first victory in the Nile Special Rugby Premiership were thwarted as Entebbe Mongers battled through to win 27-25 on Saturday in Jinja.
The Barbarians looked a more composed side leading the game from the onset but suffered a breakdown later in the game that allowed the Mongers back.
Edward Emiemu crossed the line for the opening try after just two minutes but Shakim Sembusi failed to convert his kick.
William Lukwago missed a penalty 15 minutes later but was able to cut the deficit to two points with another successful kick almost immediately.
Lukman Issa and Emiemu’s subsequent tries and Sembusi’s conversion pulled the Walukuba to 17 points just after half an hour.
Hannington Mukalali touched down just at the stroke of halftime to keep the Mongers within touching distance of their hosts who led 17-8 at the break. Emiemu was later awarded the man of the match.
Mongers Coach Fabian Tonda quickly made changes in the second half bringing in winger Erick Boole, prop Eder Aturinde and Solomon Ssali to go for the kill.
That immediately paid off as Gift Oketa and Aturnde added two tries with Lukwago converting one.
The visitors piled more pressure on Walukuba forcing Ivan Bulima to an error that was penalized.
Instead, Mongers went for a line-out and were successful with a last minute scramble that saw Xavier Otaala sneak through to the line to overturn the result in their favour.
“We led the game for about 70 minutes but we stopped pressing in our defence and gave them momentum and territorial advantage that eventually hurt us at the very end,” Walukuba coach Leo Lubambula mourned the loss.
"The game was tight but we came here to win the game," Mongers’ captain Edward Kairu said before explaining their winning strategy.
"We knew that they would eventually get tired and then give us a chance to pounce on them and that’s what we did and succeeded.”
The loss was Walukuba's fourth and will hope to find the rhythm that will see them accumulate points that will play apart in their relegation battles.
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