Kudus make history as Cup goes to the Coast  FNB Kudus made history on Saturday when they won their first-ever Rugby Premier League title with a stunning 50-32 victory against FNB Wanderers.  Walvis Bay Rugby Club had previously won the title twice, in 1975 when they shared the trophy with Wanderers and two years later when they were the sole champions, and now 50 years later, the cup once again returns to the coast after an epic final against Wanderers.  Kudus’ young flyhalf Michael Koopman was the player of the match scoring two opportunistic tries and adding 12 points with the boot for a personal tally of 22 points, but it was a great team effort with their forwards matching Wanderers’ powerful pack up front, backed up by some tigerish defence. In a frantic start to the match, Kudus made the first blow when wing Lucio Isaacs went over in the corner for a converted try but Wanderers immediately struck back when Danco Burger powered his way over the line. Burger, however, missed the conversion and Wanderers squandered several more points as only one of their six tries were eventually converted.  Koopman kept Kudus’ scoreboard ticking with his accurate boot, but Wanderers remained ahead with tries by Nandivatu Karuuombe and Ray-Eez Feris. Kudus, however, went 18-15 ahead when Justin Newman went over for a try and from then on they never looked back. Koopman scored his first try, showing a fine turn of speed and cutting through the backline to dive over and when Rayshawn Shoombe caught Wanderers’ defence napping after a quick tap penalty, the coastal outfit had surged into a 30-15 lead by halftime. Kudus maintained the momentum when Koopman jinxed his way over from a tap penalty and although Wanderers replied with a try by Johnny Mwenyo, Kudus went 44-20 ahead when Ja-Tamson van der Berg crashed over. Wanderers struck back with late tries by Edward Drotsky and Adriaan Booysen but Kudus’ substitute back Aurelio Plato stretched their lead with two penalties to clinch a historic victory amidst emotional scenes of jubilation and tears of joy. Kudus players and supporters celebrate with the cup. Photo: Helge Schütz Kudus eighth man Ja-Tamson van der Berg said, “We gave it our all and I’m proud of the boys. Everyone contributed to this success and I also want to thank our fans who came out to support us. “I never doubted that we would win. We did the necessary video sessions and we did the graft on the practice field – we did everything we could to get this far. Kudus have never had two teams in the final; I think it’s a very big thing for the team and the fans, and they will remember it for the rest of their lives,” he said. Wanderers coach Darryl de la Harpe said, “It was a good game and the spectators enjoyed it obviously, but to be honest, I was not happy with the refereeing. Our boys gave it their all, but they didn’t deserve a penalty count like this against them. We couldn’t play rugby, we couldn’t get into our stride, but congratulations to Kudus, they deserved to win.” It was a great day for Kudus as they also won the Reserve League trophy after beating Unam II 49-41 earlier on Saturday. The post Kudus make history as Cup goes to the Coast  appeared first on The Namibian.

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Unam pipped to the post in dramatic run-in  FNB Unam lost the battle for a semifinal place in the Namibia Rugby Premier League after losing a thriller 40-39 to FNB Kudus on Saturday.  With Trustco United beating FNB Dolphins 59-28 at Swakopmund, and FNB Grootfontein beating FNB Rehoboth 41-39 at home, they secured the final two semifinal spots and will now join FNB Wanderers and Kudus in next weekend’s semifinals.  Kudus had already qualified for the semifinals, but they surprised Unam with an impassioned performance at the Hage Geingob Stadium on Saturday.  They took an early lead when left wing Lucio Isaacs dived over in the corner with Rayshown Schoombe converting, and despte Aljarreau Zaahl opening Unam’s account with a penalty, Kudus kept on attacking and went 14-3 ahead when Isaacs went over for his second try.  Unam suffered a setback when their captain Rowan Jansen was stretchered off after a forward collision but they fought back bravely and reduced the gap to 14-10 when flanker Viery Haufiku went over for a converted try.  Kudus eighthman Ja-Tamson van der Berg, however, crashed over from a maul and with Shoombe adding the conversion they went into halftime with a 21-10 lead.  Unam came out firing after the break, with Duhan Bezuidenhout going over from a maul, and when Brandon Dentlinger turned on the pace to touch down, they were finally in the lead at 22-21. Zaahl missed Dentlinger’s conversion, hitting the post, and two more conversion attempts that hit the post ultimately proved costly.  Tries at either end by Kudus centre Justin Newman and Isaacs’ third, and Zaahl and Dentlinger for Unam put Kudus 33-32 ahead, before Kudus winger Aston Muukwilongo turned on the pace to go over and with Shoombe converting they went 40-32 ahead.  Unam struck back with a late try by Shaun van Wyk, converted by Delron Brandt, but it was not enough as Kudus held on for a dramatic win.  The defeat put an end to Unam’s semifinal hopes, but Alcino Isaacs, who took over the captaincy from Jansen, was a gracious loser.  “It was a very tough game, but congrats to Kudus, they really came out firing. They put their hands on our throats, but congrats to my boys, we stuck in it the whole 80 minutes and I think the crowd enjoyed one hell of a game.” “I must say we were definitely surprised by Kudus’ onslaught. We thought they would be gassed in the second half, but the boys wouldn’t stop. They stayed in the fight and I guess we just couldn’t get that final blow in,” he added.  Isaacs said it was a bitter pill to swallow.  “It’s a tough one. It’s been years since Unam didnt make a semifinal. I guess it’s a learning stage for us again, so we just need to regroup and build from this,” he said. Kudus eighthman Ja-Tamson van der Bergh congratulated his team mates on a great performance.  “I want to say thank you to all the fans who came out to support us today. It  wasn’t easy, Unam pitched up today, they wanted a place in the semifinals, but it didn’t go their way and I think our boys did a great job,” he said.  Kudus will now face Grootfontein in next weekend’s semifinal and Van der Berg said they are highly motivated.   “We are very positive, I think this is Kudus’ year. We’re going to go out with everything we’ve got and give it our best shot.” Grootfontein secured their semifinal spot after a thrilling 41-39 win against Rehoboth on their home turf.  They got maximum bonus points after scoring seven tries through Lorenzo Louis, Rudi Pretorius, Dhaamin Bassardien, Johan Luttig, Oliver Mouton, Wicus Jacobs and Nelius Theron, while Pretorius added three conversions.  For Rehoboth, Miquel Busch scored three tries, and Dolano Vries and Keynnen Basson one each, while Franklin Busch added four conversions and two penalties.  United also got maximum bonus points after scoring nine tries in their 59-28 win against Dolphins. Captain JD Nel scored three, and Jandre Esterhuizen, Keenan Januarie, DJ Holtzhausen, Dandre Schreuder, Thehard Lintvelt and Enrique Husselmann one each, while Husselmann added seven conversions for a personal tally of 19 points.  Dolphins scored four tries through Jerome Schumann (two), Cameron Marcus and Sheiton Besser, while Sammy Poulton converted all four.  Wanderers, meanwhile, completed an unbeaten league season with an impressive 78-21 victory againsty Suburbs. Their captain Danco Burger had a field day scoring three tries and seven conversions for a personal tally of 29 points, while Jurgen Meyer scored four tries, Tareekuye Tjipute two, and Nandivatu Karuuombe, Joe Losper and JP Campbell one each, while Johnny Mwenyo added two conversions.  For Suburbs, Simon Gosscky scored two tries and Richard Mupewa one, with Geraldo Beukes converting all three.  The post Unam pipped to the post in dramatic run-in  appeared first on The Namibian.

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Kudus Sink Grootfontein [New Era] Coastal outfit Kudus recorded a hard-fought victory in the Namibia Rugby Union league on Saturday as they aim to close the gap on league leaders Wanderers.

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