Four teams battling for one spot 

With only two rounds of the Windhoek Lager Rugby Premier League remaining, four teams will battle it out for the last remaining semifinal spot tomorrow. 

The top three teams on the log – FNB Unam, FNB Wanderers and FNB Kudus have already booked their semifinal spots – but FNB Grootfontein on 39 points, FNB Reho Falcon (33), Trustco United (32) and FNB Rehoboth (30) are battling it out for the final semi spot, with some tantalising clashes in store. 

All eyes will be on the match at Rehoboth where Reho Falcons will host Grootfontein. Grootfontein currently have a six point lead, but Falcons have a game in hand and a victory on their home turf tomorrow will give them a great chance of reaching the semis. 

Falcons’ team manager Deon Mouton yesterday said they are looking forward to the match. 

“We are ready, and we have to win Saturday’s match if we want to reach the semis. We have a few injuries but its not too serious,” he said. 

“We are expecting a big onslaught from Grootfontein who are also aiming for the semis, so I’m expecting a close game. But we have home advantage and we will also be strengthened by the return of Cliven Loubser who recently recovered from a groin injury,” he added.

Falcons are having their best season in years, and Mouton said they aim to make the best of it. 

“We’ve had this team together for quite a while so they are starting to gel nicely and our coaches have also played an important role in bringing the best out of them. Then of course the boys are playing for our fallen comrades who died in a motorcar accident, and it will mean a lot for the club if we can reach the semifinals. I must say we didn’t expect to be fighting for a semifinal spot, but now that we have a chance we will do everything in our power to get there,” he added.

Grootfontein are also fired up for the match according to their coach JP Erasmus. 

“This is a must win match for us – we have a chance to make history by reaching the semis for the first time, so everyone is positive and looking forward to the game. Falcons are always difficult to beat and they will give it their all to reach the semis, but I think if we stay to our structures we can win the game,” he said. 

“Our captain Wicus (Jacobs) has a niggling ankle injury, but he said he wants to play for the boys, but our props Renard Hattingh and Nelius Theron are also injured and will probably not be available,” he added. 

Rehoboth also have a small chance of reaching the semis, but they face a tough hurdle when they travel to Windhoek to take on second-placed Wanderers. 

Their coach Jood Opperman, however, said they are quietly confident of their chances. 

“We are expecting a very tough match from Wanderers and they will be the favourites on their home ground, but if we can stick to the game plan and if we look to exploit the gaps, I think we have a good chance to upset them,” he said. 

“We had a tough match against Falcons last week (Rehoboth won 31-30) – it’s always like that in the Rehoboth derby, but we scrummed well. I expect Wanderers to make a big onslaught up front, but we are ready for them,” he added. 

Opperman said he didn’t want to look too far ahead, but had hope for the future. 

“I joined Rehoboth in February and implemented some new systems, so that takes a while to get used to and we struggled at first, but it’s looking much better now. I’d say its a two-year project, but if you look at how well our second team is doing, then I have hope for the future. We’ll just take each game as it comes – we have three difficult final matches against Wanderers, United and Kudus, but let’s see how it goes,” he said. 

Trustco United will start as big favourites when they host bottom-of-the-log Simonis Storm Dolphins at Gemsbok Park, and a haul of maximum bonus points could put them in pole psition in the race for the fourth spot. 

FNB Western Suburbs, meanwhile, host log leaders FNB Unam at Suburbs Park, in a match of little consequence, with Suburbs out of the running for the semis, while Unam are already through.