JSB Gold Cup Title Race Wide Open [Namibian] FNB Grootfontein threw the JSB Gold Cup wide open with a stunning 44-36 victory against FNB Wanderers on Saturday.

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Wanderers and Kudus to Battle for the Crown [Namibian] FNB Wanderers and FNB Kudus will battle it out for the 2025 Rugby Premier League title after winning two tough semifinal enounters on Saturday.

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Battle for knock-out stages intensifies  The battle for semifinal places in the Namibian Rugby Premier League intensifies this weekend with some crucial matches in store tomorrow.  FNB Wanderers, who lead the log on 28 points, and second-placed FNB Kudus on 24, seem assured of reaching the semifinals but the other two spots are still up for grabs, with Trustco United (17), FNB Grootfontein (16), FNB Unam (12), FNB Western Suburbs (11) and FNB Rehoboth (11) all still in the hunt.  Wanderers have been in imperious form this season, winning all their matches to date, and will start as firm favourites when they host United in their annual derby at the Wanderers ground.  Wanderers captain Jacques Theron acknowledged that they are the favourites but said they will not rest on their laurels. “We’ve had a great start to the season, we are four points ahead of Kudus at the top of the log, so it’s a lead, but it’s not where we want to be yet. We are the favourites, but a derby is a derby and anything can happen, so we’re trying to prepare as if it’s our first game of the season and were going to give it our all,” he said.  He certainly has a point as derbies traditionally bring out the best in both teams.  Last season United didn’t even reach the semifinal play-offs, but after losing 31-15 to Wanderers in their first round encouner, they nearly beat their old foes in their return leg encounter at Wanderers, before going down 18-15.  Despite Wanderers’ success in recent years, United still hold the upper hand over their archrivals in their traditional derby which dates back 69 years. Since their first derby in 1956, United have won 34 matches and Wanderers 31, while four have been drawn. On paper, Wanderers have a powerful squad with depth and quality, while competition for places in the starting line-up will be intense.  Amongst the backs Theron and Denzo Bruwer form a potent halfback pair, while they have speed aplenty out wide in players like Jurgens Meyer, Johnny Mwenyo, Owen Hawanga and Danie van der Merwe.  Up front they have experienced national players like Ruan Ludick and Adriaan Booysen, while upcoming players like Sheron Rossouw, Joe Losper and Kian Beyer have also impressed this season.  United on the other hand are in a rebuilding phase with a young team and few stars, but players like captain JD Nel, Ricardo Swartz and Christo Gresse amongst the backs, and Thehard Lintvelt, Feddy Mazila and Zander Bronkhorst amongst the forwards have caught the eye. United, however, will still be without their inspirational flyhalf Hanreco van Zyl, who tore his hamstring against Western Suburbs a month ago. Another exciting showdown can be expected at the Unam field where Unam host Rehoboth. There’s not much to choose between the two sides, with only a point separating them on the log, while both are hitting form and coming off victories last weekend.  Unam have had an indifferent start to the league but last weekend finished strongly to beat Falcons 31-18, while Rehoboth beat United 38-28 on their home field. Tomorrow’s encounter will be crucial to both teams’ title aspirations and a humdinger can be expected. Grootfontein will be determined to get their campaign back on track after a 33-27 defeat to Kudus last weekend, and will be aiming for maximum bonus points when they take on bottom of the log FNB Dolphins at Swakopmund.  Dolphins are still in search of their first win this season, but are slowly making progress in only their second season in the Premier League.  Kudus will start as favourites against FNB Reho Falcon, who are out of the running for the semis, but they should not be underestimated. Last week they pushed Unam all the way before fading in the last 10 minutes, and in front of their Rehoboth supporters they could be a tough nut to crack. The post Battle for knock-out stages intensifies  appeared first on The Namibian.

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Top four pull away  The top four teams in the Namibia Rugby Premier League opened up a sizable gap on the rest of field after the fifth round of matches on Saturday. FNB Wanderers maintained their unbeaten status with a 29-0 win away to FNB Rehoboth to move up to 28 points at the top of the log, while FNB Kudus thumped FNB Western Suburbs 50-15 at Walvis Bay to go second on 19 points.  Trustco United overcame a spirited FNB Reho Falcon 45-31 to go third on 16 points, while FNB Grootfontein are fourth on 15 points after beating FNB Unam 37-20 at home.  Unam and Suburbs now trail eight points behind Grootfontein on seven points each, while Rehoboth (6), Reho Falcon (5) and FNB Dolphins (0) make up the rear.  At the United field, Falcons pushed United all the way, with the result in the balance till the closing stages.  United took an early lead through a try by Christo Gresse, converted by Ricardo Swartz, and went 12-0 ahead when Zander Bronkhorst went over from a maul.  Falcons opened their account with a try by Thomas Kali, but United went 19-5 ahead after Kamaa Kajau crashed over from a forward maul.  Falcons made a determined comeback with Dillon Kahmann cutting through the backline to score with Ashton van Wyk converting, and when both kickers added a penalty, United held a 22-15 lead going into halftime.  Swartz and Van Wyk traded penalties in the second half and with United leading 28-24 the game was still wide open.  Falcons bashed away at United’s defence, but were caught on the counter-attack when United centre JD Nel ran 70m clear to score a converted try as United pulled 35-24 ahead.  Falcons narrowed the deficit to 35-31 when flanker Marthinus Nekundi went over for a fine solo try, but United had the final say through a converted try by Callie Swanepoel, while Swartz added a late penalty.  United coach Robbie Dickson said he was satisfied with their performance.  “It was a good game and Reho Falcon really played well. We failed to exit a couple of times and gave them ball to run at us. We know they are dangerous when they do that, and there were a couple of mistakes on our side but overall I’m happy with the performance. I think our kicking was good from the tee and our defence was also good, so I’m happy with the result,” he said.  “We will just take it game by game and try and qualify for the semifinals,” he added.  Wanderers, meanwhile, recorded their fifth consecutive win with a 29-0 away to Rehoboth. Wanderers scored five tries through Danco Burger (two), Danie van der Merwe, Jacques Theron and Joe Losper, while Johnny Mwenyo added two conversions.  Kudus picked up maximum bonus points after scoring seven tries against Suburbs.  Justin Newman and Lucio Isaacs scored two tries each, and PJ Walters, Cameron Langenhoven and Zwandre Viviers one each, while Michael Koopman added four conversions and a penalty, and Kyle Wentzel two conversions.  Suburbs scored two tries through Delano van Wyk and Ethan Beukes, while Bronwon Willemse added a conversion and a penalty.  Grootfontein scored five tries in their win against Unam through Lasarus Joseph, Rudi Pretorius, Johannes Luttig, Wicus Jacobs and Oliver Mouton, while Uroel Marais added 12 points with the boot.  Unam scored three tries through Alcino Isaac, Shareave Titus and Don Beukes, while Aljarreau Zaahl added a conversion and Davitho van Wyk a penalty.  The post Top four pull away  appeared first on The Namibian.

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The battle is on in Rugby Premier League  With the Rugby Premier League at about the halfway stage before the knockout stages begin, the battle is on for a place in the semifinals. FNB Wanderers are way ahead of the pack on 23 points and certain to reach the knockout stages, but the battle for the other three semifinal spots is still wide open. FNB Kudus are second on 13 points, followed by Trustco United (11), FNB Grootfontein (10), FNB Unam and FNB Western Suburbs on seven points each, FNB Rehoboth (6) and FNB Reho Falcons (5). Only bottom-of-the-log FNB Dolphins (0) seem to be out of the running, although they still have a mathematical chance to make the top four. The Wanderers machine travels south to take on Rehoboth tomorrow and will start as firm favourites to make it five wins in a row. They have accumulated 257 points and conceded 65 so far, at an aggregate of 66-16 per game, and with their powerful pack and hard running backs will provide a huge challenge for the home side. Rehoboth coach Jackey Bock however said they are well prepared and hoping to cause an upset. “We’ve had a couple of good sessions and finalised the team early so the guys are settled and very excited about the challenge against Wanderers.  “It will be a huge task because Wanderers have very good structures and nearly 90% of their players are in the national side, but we will give it our best shot and I also have a few tricks up my sleeve,” he said.  Kudus host Western Suburbs and a humdinger could be in store, with both teams eager to get back to winning ways. Kudus lost a thriller 32-31 to United in their last match and their secretary Wilfred Muller said they need to make a statement after their defeat to United.  “The players have been working hard and the team is gelling nicely now. The players know they have to make a strong comeback now because if we lose it will make the road to the semis much more difficult. Wanderers have built up a big gap at the top so we need to reduce it,” he said.  Suburbs had a great start to the season, winning their opening two matches against Unam and Grootfontein under new coach Jood Opperman, but since then they’ve unravelled a bit, losing to Rehoboth and United. Besides that they were also deducted three points for fielding unregistered players against Unam, while they will be without Opperman who is currently with the national u20 team in Zimbabwe. Opperman yesterday, however, said that the team is well prepared and ready for the match.  “I haven’t been with the team for a week now but I’ll have a teleconference call with the assistant coaches tonight to tie up some loose ends. But our players are ready for the game, and I trust and believe that they will be motivated and have the right attitude for the game. “We are expecting a very physical and tactical game, because their coach Roger Thompson is a highly respected coach and he is very clinical on the various facets of the game, so we must just make sure that we execute well and get points when we are in their territory.  “I’m expecting a hard match – both teams have got strong packs of forwards and good backline players, but Kudus are definitely the favourites and we will start as the underdogs.  “The players that I select and send in to battle must know that I expect a lot of them and they must just give their best. Our aim is to finish in the top four and we hope that the men will put up a good show at the coast,” he said. Trustco United host Reho Falcon, who will be in confident mood after they beat Rehoboth 25-21 in their last match a fortnight.  United should start as the favourites on their home turf, but head coach Robbie Dickson said they will not underestimate Falcons.  “We are looking forward to the game this weekend, and we’ve put a lot of work in since our last game against Suburbs. We’ve spent a lot of time on our set-pieces especially the scrums and the lineouts; and we’ve been working hard on fitness and our defensive and attacking structures.  “It’s going to be a very hard game against Falcons, they always give their best when they come to United, but we are looking forward to the match and hope to win it,” he said.  Unam, meanwhile, travel north to take on Grootfontein in another match that could go down to the wire. Fourth-placed Grootfontein currently lead Unam  by three points on the log, but the students have a game in hand and a win could be a vital boost for their stop-start campaign so far. The post The battle is on in Rugby Premier League  appeared first on The Namibian.

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Wanderers, Kudus Take the Lead [Namibian] FNB Wanderers and FNB Kudus went to the top of the Namibia Rugby Premier League log after both recorded convincing victories on Saturday.

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Wanderers, Kudus take the lead  FNB Wanderers and FNB Kudus went to the top of the Namibia Rugby Premier League log after both recorded convincing victories on Saturday.  Wanderers beat FNB Unam 46-24 on their home field in Pionierspark while Kudus overcame Rehoboth 26-7 at the Jan Wilken Stadium in Walvis Bay.  FNB Western Suburbs also remained unbeaten after beating FNB Grootfontein 15-7 at Suburbs Park, while FNB Reho Falcon beat FNB Dolphins 21-7 at Rehoboth.  At the Wanderers field, the two sides produced a fierce battle with honours even at the break, but Wanderers’ forward dominance started to tell after the break as they ran out comfortable winners.  Unam got off to a great start when they attacked from the kickoff and centre Suramie Kambombo went over in the left hand corner. With flyhalf Aljarreau Zaahl adding a great conversion from the touchline they took a 7-0 lead after barely two minutes.  Wanderers came storming back and after camping on Unam’s tryline only desperate defence kept them out. They finally opened their account midway through the first half when scrumhalf Jacques Theron turned on the pace to cut through the backline and dot down with Denzo Bruwer adding the conversion to draw level at 7-7.  Unam fullback Abraham Ilonga was sin binned for a high tackle on Bruwer, and Wanderers fullback Johnny Mwenyo added the penalty to put them 10-7 ahead, but Unam regained the lead when left wing Shareave Titus outpaced Wanderers’ defence to dot down and with Zaahl converting they went 14-10 ahead.  Wanderers however went 17-14 ahead just before halftime when centre Danie van der Merwe intercepted the ball and ran half the length of the field to dive over with Mwenyo adding the conversion.  Unam once again took the lead at the start of the second half when centre Raschano van Rooi raced through to dive over and with Zaahl converting they went 21-17 ahead.  Wanderers, however, soon regained the lead when nn went over for a try and from then on they never looked back.  They went 29-21 after a converted try by centre Natie Janse van Rensburg and although Zaahl reduced the deficit with a penalty, another converted try by left wing Owen Hawanga put Wanderers in charge at 36-24.  With their forwards dominating up front more possession came their way and a converted try by substitute loose forward Adriaan Booysen put them 43-24 ahead before a final penalty by Mwenyo sealed a comprehensive win.  The win put Wanderers level with Kudus at the top of the log on 11 points, although the coastal side remain top due to a better points aggregate.  Kudus were made to work hard for victory against Rehoboth but they eventually ran out comfortable winners, scoring four tries to grab a bonus point.  Right wing Irongwa Atshivudhi, centre PJ Walters, scrumhalf Rayshawn Shoombe and flanker Franco Vries dotted down, while flyhalf Michael Koopman added one conversion and replacement back Aurelio Plato two.  Rehoboth replied with a try and conversion by flyhalf Geraldo Beukes.  Western Suburbs got their second successive after beating Grootfontein in a close encounter win at a waterlogged Suburbs Park.  There were a lot of handling errors on both sides due tio the conditions while the match also had to be interuppted due to lightning and a heavy rain shower towards the end, although it was finally completed.  Suburbs however made better use of their opportunities, scoring two tries by flankers Delano van Wyk and Ethan Beukes, while fullback Dwayne van Zyl added a conversion and a penalty. Grootfontein replied with a penalty try.  Falcons, meanwhile, got their first win of the season after beating Dolphins 21-7 at Rehoboth.  The post Wanderers, Kudus take the lead  appeared first on The Namibian.

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Big encounters in store in Rugby Premier League  The Windhoek Lager Rugby Premier League resumed tomorrow after a week’s break with some huge clashes in store.  Defending champions FNB Wanderers host archrivals FNB Unam, the early log leaders FNB Kudus host FNB Reho Falcon, FNB Western Suburbs host FNB Grootfontein, and FNB Reho Falcon host FNB Dolphins.  Wanderers got off to a great start when they beat Falcons 61-23 a fortnight ago and they will fancy their chances against Unam, who suffered a shock 24-22 defeat to Western Suburbs. Wanderers have been strengthened by several new players including utility back Johnny Mwenyo from Unam; former national u20 captain and loose forward Joe Losper and former u20 winger Owen Hawanga; loose forward Kian Beyer, who played club rugby in Germany last year; hooker Edward Drotsky from Rehoboth; and prop Hans Ngoshi from Grootfontein. Besides their usual powerful pack of forwards, they also have a potent backline where the Welwitschias halfback pairing of Jacques Theron and Denzo Bruwer is decisive in attack and defence – Theron with his nippy service and quick breaks, and Bruwer with his booming boot and accurate kicking.  Alongside them they have Welwitschias captain Danco Burger and the upcoming Danie van der Merwe at centre, while another up and coming centre Natie Janse van Rensburg didnt even make the starting 15 against Falcons.  Unam, though, are sure to provide a strong response after their defeat to Suburbs. In that match they seemed to be heading for victory when they led 15-3 at halftime, but their cause wasnt helped when they received two yellow cards after the break, while Suburbs capitalised with three quick tries to score a stunning victory.  Unam still have largely the same team that gave Wanderers a good run for their money in last year’s final and they are sure to come out firing tomorrow.  They have a dangerous backline including speedsters Quirione Majiedt and Shareave Titus, the experienced Camlo Martin at centre, and the explosive scrumhalf AJ Kearns who will have to be kept in check.  Up front they have a powerful pack with the likes of Graham April, Diamando Tjombe, Bjorn Kazondunge, and a mobile loose trio where Rowan Jansen and Gilad Plaatjies will provide Wanderers a stiff challenge for the loose ball.  It should be a great encounter that could go either way.  Suburbs meanwhile suffered a setback when they missed the player registration deadline and were deducted points for fielding ineligible players against Unam. With former United and Rehoboth coach Jood Opperman now in charge, they are sure to be well drilled and super fit and their encounter against Grootfontein should be another humdinger.  Rehoboth meanwhile open their account with a tough trip to the coast where they take on the early log leaders Kudus, while Falcons and Dolphins will both be keen to get their campaigns on track withj a victory when they clash in Rehoboth.  The post Big encounters in store in Rugby Premier League  appeared first on The Namibian.

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