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.
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