On Saturday May 5th 2025, Yasin Wasswa stood in a changing room at Kings park Arena after Jinja Hippos his former team lost a Premiership final to the Stanbic Black Pirates. The disappointment was sharp. But there was pride too, they had come further than anyone expected.
Months later, Wasswa is back in a final. Wearing a different jersey but carrying the same hope. Thirteen years ago, Buffaloes coach Charles Onen was a player on the team that reached the Premiership final, the club’s most recent appearance in that decider. Now Toyota Buffaloes are back in the 2026 Uganda Rugby Premiership final, where Onen and Yasin share yet another common opportunity: one will shape the game from the technical bench, the other will define it on the field.
Yasin Wasswa, one of Uganda Rugby’s most promising playmakers and a former Uganda Under-20 International, completed his move to Toyota Buffaloes ahead of the 2026 season. Owen Mugogo moved in the same window from Hippos to Buffaloes giving the team a wealth of talent.
For Buffaloes, it’s about history. The club has never won the Premiership. This is their first final in 13 years. For Wasswa, it is a full-circle moment: back in a final, chasing the same dream.
Buffaloes earned their place the hard way. They beat Impis 20–11 at Makerere in the first leg of the semi-final. They sealed a 28–12 second-leg win to advance. Their pack has been dominant throughout the campaign. The backline, anchored by experienced heads like Wasswa, has grown in confidence.
On Buffaloes’ 13-year wait since 2013 and the club’s search for a maiden title, Wasswa believes history should not weigh on the current group. “Stay calm, prepare thoroughly, and enjoy the build-up and the occasion,” he says.
Asked whether facing Pirates again makes the final personal, Wasswa said it does not. “For me, the focus is always on the team and the jersey, with Buffaloes chasing their first Premiership crown.” Like last year with Hippos, few expected the Kyadondo side to reach the final this season. But he stressed that finals demand performance regardless of predictions.
For Buffaloes, a first title would redefine their history. It would give the Kyadondo based team a Premiership to call their own. Playing at Kings Park Arena, Bweyogerere — a venue with big-game pedigree and the home ground to the Pirates means they cannot rely on home advantage. They will have to earn it.
Wasswa’s message to his team is straightforward: History should not weigh on the us. Focus on the team, and the jersey.
On 27 June at Kings Park Arena, Bweyogerere, Toyota Buffaloes will step onto the field not just as contenders. They are a club trying shape their story. At the heart of that push will be Yasin Wasswa, the fly-half who has been there before, lost before, and now has a chance to make history for the team.
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