Rugby Premier League goes down to the wire 

The Namibia Rugby Premier League goes down to the wire this weekend with several teams still in the running to reach the semi-final knockout stages.

Log leaders FNB Wanderers (39 points) and second-placed FNB Kudus (29) have already booked their semi-final spots, but FNB Unam (21), FNB Grootfontein (21) and Trustco United (20) are battling it out for the last two spots, while even FNB Western Suburbs and FNB Rehoboth, who are both on 17 points, still have a remote chance of making the semis.

As such, some huge battles can be expected in tomorrow’s final round of league matches, with Unam taking on Kudus at Hage Geingob Stadium, Grootfontein hosting Rehoboth, Wanderers hosting Suburbs, and United away to FNB Dolphins.

After a slow start that saw them losing three of their opening four matches, the momentum has started to shift in favour of Unam, who have won their last three matches in a row.

Especially last weekend’s 33-32 win against United was a huge boost for their semi-final aspirations, and they will head into tomorrow’s match against Kudus high on confidence and highly motivated.

Kudus, on the other hand, have already qualified and may not be so motivated, while they may not even have their strongest side available, according to team secretary Wilfried Muller.

“With both our Premier League and Reserve League teams already having qualified and another semi-final approaching next weekend, it has become challenging for our players to make themselves available for both weekends.

“This is particularly true due to family commitments during the long weekend and work obligations,” he says.

“We engaged with employers this week, and players essentially had to choose between working this weekend or next weekend, as many employers have already indicated that they find it difficult to grant additional days off with the holidays during the week,” he says.

Muller calls on the Namibia Rugby Union to adopt international practices and let them play their semi-final at home and not in Windhoek.

“We find ourselves in a situation where motivating players is challenging since there is little to play for. If there had been a home semi-final, we would have likely seen a different level of performance from Kudus Rugby Club.

“All the top competitions globally employ a uniform set of rules. The two leading teams compete in home semi-finals, so it is imperative that Namibian rugby aligns itself with international practices,” he says.

“We won’t be at full strength this weekend, as many players are unavailable due to work commitments and a few injuries. However, we will show up to fulfil our final fixture of the round,” he says.

Grootfontein, meanwhile, face a tough task against Rehoboth, but their captain, Wicus Jacobs, says they are highly motivated and up for the challenge.

“We are approaching this match as if it’s a final. We will have to give it our all.

“We slipped up in a few matches earlier in the season, which has now made it very difficult to reach the semi-finals. We also know the chances are quite big that Unam and United will both get full points, so we will just have to aim for full points and hope the other results are in our favour,” he says.

“The league has been very competitive this year. All the teams are lying close to each other on the log and are more or less equally strong, so it’s going to be a tough battle, but we are up for the challenge and must just go and complete the job,” he says.

United will be aiming for maximum points when they take on bottom-of-the-log Dolphins who have lost all their matches to date.

Dolphins, however, are improving and last weekend nearly shocked Rehoboth before going down 29-28, and on their home turf could provide a strong challenge against a United side that has lost momentum in recent weeks.

They have lost their last three matches in a row, and especially after last weekend’s last-gasp 33-32 defeat to Unam, will have to pick up the pieces and refocus to be at their best against Dolphins.

Wanderers are still unbeaten all season and should start as strong favourites on their home turf against an inconsistent Suburbs side whose performances varied from a 24-22 win against Unam to a 50-15 defeat to Kudus.

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