All eyes on United v Unam  FNB Wanderers take on FNB Kudus in a top-of-the-log Rugby Premier League clash at Walvis Bay tomorrow, but all eyes will be on the showdown in Windhoek between Trustco United and FNB Unam. Wanderers on 34 points and Kudus on 29 have already booked their semifinal spots, but United (18) and Unam (17) are both still in the hunt and victory will be crucial for their title aspirations.  United head into the match after a bruising 47-24 defeat to Wanderers last weekend, but their coach Robbie Dickson said they took some positives from the match.  “It’s never nice losing a derby, but after watching the game a couple of times and having the analysis done, we’re actually quite happy with our performance. Two tries of ours were not given, one try of theirs came from a forward pass and we missed two conversions, so if things went our way we could well have won the game,” he said.  “We got a couple of injuries – our scrumhalf Elzandro van Wyk broke two fingers after he suffered a late tackle, so he’s out for the weekend, and then our outside centre Sammy Soobramoney injured his foot so I’m still not 100 per cent sure if he’ll be available,” he added.  Dickson said they worked on eliminating their mistakes against Wanderers.  “We have prepared well and worked on what went wrong – our defensive systems, set-pieces, and especially our line-outs in the second half were terrible against Wanderers. So we spent a lot of time on that and then we also just worked on our general play – protecting our ball better and putting our phases together better,” he said.  “We’re looking forward to the Unam challenge this weekend. We know it’s going to be hard, it’s a must-win match for us, but we are ready to kick off on Saturday and do the best that we can,” he added.  Unam coach Russel van Rooi said their momentum has picked up after a slow start to the season.  “We had a slow start to the season, but now we’ve won two games in a row and we’re in a good space at the moment. I think United will come out firing after their derby defeat, so we are expecting a titanic game, but we will field our strongest side and I have full confidence in my players,” he said.  Van Rooi said they are awaiting an injury assessment on versatile forward Oderich Mouton who could be in the starting line-up after returning from Poland, while the team will also be strengthened by national squad players like Jason Benade, Alcino Izaacs, Quirione Majiedt and Andrew Kearns.  It should be a cracking match that could go down to the wire.  FNB Western Suburbs (13 points) still have a remote chance of reaching the semis and will be targetting maximum bonus points when they host Reho Falcon, as will FNB Rehoboth Rugby Club (11 points) who will host FNB Dolphins.  The post All eyes on United v Unam  appeared first on The Namibian.

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Wanderers remain top after bruising derby win  FNB Wanderers maintained their unbeaten record this season but had to pull out all the stops to beat Trustco United 47-24 in their annual derby match on Saturday.  Although the final result seems a bit one-sided it was not a true reflection of the game as United matched Wanderers throughout in a ferocious forward battle, with great defensive displays by both sides.  Wanderers collected maximum bonus points, scoring seven tries, with Danco Burger scoring two, and Adriaan Booysen, Sheron Rossouw, Edward Drotsky, Jurgen Meyer and Johnny Mwenyo one each. Mwenyo added four conversions for a personal tally of 13 points, while Denzo Bruwer, coming on as a second half substitute added two conversions.  United scored four tries through Christo Gresse (two), Thehard Lintvelt and Kamaa Kajau, while Enrique Husselmann added two conversions.  In a ferocious forward battle of big hits and crunching tackles, Wanderers took the lead when Adriaan Booysen crashed over for a converted try, but United came surging back and opened their account when Kajau  went over from a maul.  Wanderers stretched their lead when Sheron Rossouw finished off a lineout driving maul, but United once again struck back when Lintvelt crashed over from a maul and with Husselmann adding the conversion they were level at 12-12.  Wanderers came back with a vengeance, bashing away at United’s line, and despite some great defence, Unied finally wilted as Burger and Drotsky touched down to give Wanderers a 26-12 lead at the break. Mwenyo stretched their lead to 33-12 when he rounded off a backline attack, but United came storming back with Gresse finally diving over in the corner after concerted pressure on Wanderers’ line and with Husselmann adding a great conversion from the touchline they were back in the hunt at 33-19 down.  With defensive gaps, however, starting to appear in the final quarter, Wanderers took their opportunities and further tries by Burger and Meyer completed a resounding win.  The victory left Wanderers at the top of the log on 34 points, now five points clear of FNB Kudus, while United are fourth on 18 points – just one ahead of FNB Unam. Wanderers captain Jacques Theron said they had to dig deep for the win.  “Like we thought United really brought it to us today, so congrats to them, they really put up a great effort. We had to dig deep to win this one, but luckily the team could pull it through. I think they really fought for the whole 80 minutes, so I’m really proud of them,” he said.  “United came for us on attack and defence, they really brought everything to get this one through, so there was a lot of physicality and a lot of tackles, but that’s rugby and that’s why its fun,” he added.   United coach Robbie Dickson said they’ll take the lessons from their defeat as they prepare for their remaining matches. “We struggled a bit in the second half with our set-pieces and they caught us on our defence a couple of times on the outside. It’s never nice losing a derby, but we’ll just go back to the drawing board and assess the game and see how we can improve for our game against Unam next week,” he said. “I am still confident that we can reach the semis, but we can’t lose from here on – we’ve got Unam next weekend and then Dolphins away, so we need to take the points there,” he added.   FNB Unam, meanwhile, are also firmly in the hunt for a semifinal spot after beating FNB Rehoboth 43-28 at the Unam field. The result puts them fifth on the log on 17 points, just one behind United, while Rehoboth are seventh on 11 points.  FNB Kudus remain second on 29 points after beating Reho Falcon 38-8 at Rehoboth, while FNB Grootfontein remain third on 21 points after beating FNB Dolphins 40-13 at Swakopmund.  The post Wanderers remain top after bruising derby win  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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