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.
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