Moria stun WHS in superb rugby final 

Moria Private School school made history on Saturday when they beat Windhoek High School (WHS) 55-40 to win the Namibia Secondary Schools Rugby u19 Super League final for the first time.

In a terrific match that ebbed and flowed till the final quarter, Moria dug deep to overcome a 26-12 half-time deficit to eventually run out convincing winners.

With 20 minutes to go, WHS were still leading, but Moria rose to the occasion with three late tries to seal a historic victory and send their fans wild with delight.

With tears flowing freely among players and fans alike at the final whistle, Moria’s coaches, Reino du Toit and TW Koorts, could not hide their delight.

“It’s incredible, we are very proud. The boys did their job, they really showed a lot of heart and came back strongly over the last 20 minutes,” Du Toit said.

“Just before half-time, we were 26-12 behind, but we scored quickly before half-time, and I think the momentum shifted to us there,” Koorts said.

“I can’t say how proud I am of these boys who showed heart and guts to come back and win the match quite comfortably in the end. We are incredibly proud,” he said.

“It’s incredible what happened here today, and we want to thank all our fans here for their support. We are endlessly thankful, and its going to be a great evening tonight,” he said.

The match was a humdinger from the start with the momentum shifting back and forth.

Moria took the lead when flanker Ben Mostert went over from a driving maul, but WHS struck back with a drop goal by flyhalf MC-Rein van Wyk, and when captain Pieter-Jan Strydom broke away from a lineout to go over in the corner, they went 8-5 ahead.

Moria regained the lead when flanker Keyo Kruger crashed over for a try, but Van Wyk added another drop and a penalty to put WHS 14-12 ahead after 30 minutes.

WHS stepped up their attacks and stretched their lead to 26-12 after two great backline tries. Centre Ethan Sinden went over after a swift counter-attack by Xavier Bampton, before Van Wyk cut through Moria’s defence with a mazy run to dive over behind the posts.

With a 14-point lead it seemed that WHS had taken control, but Moria immediately struck back with a try by prop Johan Gabrielsen, and when Mostert went over for his second try they were just two points behind at 24-26.

WHS pounded away at Moria’s tryline, but their defence stood firm and the momentum shifted back to Moria when eighthman Armand Esterhuizen crashed over for his second try and with Bertus Narib adding the conversion they went 31-26 ahead.

WHS immediately struck back when flanker Isaiah Kazondovi crashed over for a try, and with Van Wyk putting over a superb conversion from the corner they edged 33-31 ahead.

The match continued to ebb and flow as Moria went 38-33 ahead after a converted try by flyhalf Jurian Dreyer, before WHS regained a 40-38 lead after scrumhalf Dominique Isaacs dived over behind the posts.

Moria, however, dug deep and took control of the match with three tries in the final quarter.

Fullback and captain Franco Engelbrecht finished off a forward driving maul and when leftwing Drikus Maartens went over in the corner they went 48-40 ahead.

In the dying minutes Moria completed a superb comeback when Narib cut through the backline to send centre Jano Erasmus away, diving over behind the posts, to seal a historic victory.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.