Rugby semis race wide open 

A last-gasp drop goal by Delron Brandt gave FNB Unam a dramatic 33-32 victory against Trustco United in the Namibia Rugby Premier League on Saturday and threw the race for a place in the semifinals wide open.

The result put Unam third on the log on 21 points, just ahead of Grootfontein (21) on points aggregate, and United (20), and with one round remaining, the battle for the semis is now destined to go down to the wire. 

FNB Western Suburbs (17 points) and FNB Rehoboth (16) also kept heir faint knockout hopes alive with victories on Saturday, but it’s highly unlikely that they will progress. 

At the United field, United and Unam produced a thriller as fortunes swayed back and forth throughout a gripping contest. 

United outscored Unam by four tries to three, but conceded too many penalties and Unam fullback Aljarreau Zaahl made them pay, scoring 15 points with the boot, as well as a great counter-attacking try for a personal tally of 20 points.

Unam took an early 6-0 lead after two Zaahl penalties, but United came storming back and took the lead when captain JD Nel finished off a counter-attack by the hardworking Thehard Lintvelt, with Enrique Husselmann adding the conversion. 

United went 14-6 ahead through a penalty try after relentless pressure on Unam’s tryline, but Zaahl narrowed the gap to 14-9 with a penalty just before halftime. 

Unam came out reinvigorated after the break and went 16-14 ahead when nippy scrumhalf AJ Kearns broke clear from a scrum to touch down for a converted try, but United regained the lead through a long range penalty by Ricardo Swartz and when Lintvelt crashed over in the corner they went 22-16 ahead. 

The pressure, however, started to tell as JD Nel spilled a high ball and when Kearns went over for his second try from the resulting scrum, Unam were back in front at 23-22. 

Zaahl then pounced onto a loose ball, kicking it ahead and beating Keenan Januarie to the touchdown and after adding the conversion Unam were suddenly leading 30-22.

United came storming back with a try by lock Leon Mutonga, converted by Swartz and when the latter added a penalty they went 32-30 ahead. 

Unam, however, had the final say when replacement back Delron Brandt put over a last minute drop goal to ensure a thrilling one-point victory. 

FNB Wanderers, meanwhile, stretched their lead at the top of the log to 10 points after beating FNB Kudus 28-10 at Walvis Bay. 

Wanderers scored four tries through Joe Losper, Johny Mwenyo, Denzo Bruwer and Danie van der Merwe, with Bruwer adding three conversions and Mwenyo one. 

Kudus replied with a try by Ja-Tamson vander Berg, converted by Kyle Wentzel, who also put over a penalty. 

It was Wanderers’ seventh consecutive victory and put them on 39 points, while Kudus remain second on 29. 

Rehoboth had to pull out all the stops to beat FNB Dolphins 29-28 at home. 

Rehoboth scored four tries through Manfred Garoeb, Henrique Olivier, Miquel Busch and Titus Mathias, while Franklin Busch added two conversions and Miquel Busch a conversion and a penalty. 

Dolphins scored three tries through Ethan Hendricks, Jason Beukes and Conwill Draghoender, while Sammy Poulton added two conversions and three penalties. 

Suburbs scored two penalty tries and another by Morgan Esterhuizen,while Geraldo Beukes added one conversion and four penalties. 

Falcons scored three tries through Dillon Kahmann, Martinus Nekundi and Casey Beukes, who added three conversions and a penalty for a personal tally of 14 points. 

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