The semifinalists for the Rugby Premier League have been confirmed while another withdrawal put a dampener on the weekend’s scheduled matches.
FNB Reho Falcon withdrew from their match against Montego United at United’s field in Olympia, saying they did not have enough players, despite the fact that their second team did play United in the reserve league and in fact won the match 34-33 after a last minute try.
Falcons’ withdrawal is just the latest of a recent growing trend, after they also failed to travel to the coast to play FNB Dolphins a fortnight ago, while FNB Western Suburbs and FNB Rehoboth also withdrew from away matches against FNB Kudus and FNB Grootfontein respectively over the past month.
With teams being deducted six points for failing to turn up, Falcons have now dropped down to only five points in second last position, while Suburbs are bottom of the log on an ignominious -3 points.
The default win gave United a maximum six bonus points which moves them up to 65 points in second place – four behind log leaders FNB Wanderers, which also ensures their place in the semifinals, but United coach Herman Lintvelt was not pleased about the situation.
“We just heard before the game that according to Reho Falcon they didn’t have enough players, but their second team did play so we will still have a look at that. How does that work – their second team beat our second team, but they didn’t have enough players for their first team, but that’s something that we will take up with the NRU on Monday,” he said.
Lintvelt said they were disappointed not to be able to play the match, while the issue of withdrawals should be addressed by the Namibia Rugby Union (NRU).
“In the long run maybe this was a good thing heading into the semifinals, because we have about six or seven players who were unavailable due to injuries or travelling, but we are also disappointed. We wanted to play and it was an opportunity for a lot of the guys who haven’t played first team rugby this year who were mostly on the bench, so obviously its a disappointment for them as well,” he said.
“But I don’t think it’s a good thing for Namibian rugby, it’s definitely something we have to discuss at the end of the season with the NRU and the clubs – this issue of clubs withdrawing from matches, I don’t think that’s a healthy thing in our system,” he added.
The maximum bonus point win has now ensured a semifinal place for United and Lintvelt said they had achieved their primary aim.
“We are second on the log and we will get maximum bonus points now, so I can’t see that we wont make it, but whether we finish first, second, third or fourth, for us that’s not really important. Our main aim at the beginning of the season was to be in the semifinals, and whoever you play there will be tough, so it doesn’t really matter for us where we finish on the log. We want to be in the semifinals and on the day anything can happen,” he said.
Kudus, Grootfontein into semis
FNB Kudus and FNB Grootfontein also secured their places in the semifinals after beating FNB Unam and FNB Dolphins 54-22 respectively.
At the Narraville Stadium in Walvis Bay, the defending champions Kudus withstood a strong challenge from Unam to eventually win the match 35-26.
For Kudus, left wing Aston Mukwiilongo and lock Sheron Rossouw scored two tries each, and eighthman Ja-Tamson van der Berg one try, while flyhalf Aurelio Plato added two conversions and two penalties.
Unam scored two tries through left wing Don Juan Beukes and flanker Rowan Jansen, while fullback Aljarreau Zaahl added two conversions and four penalties for a personal tally of 16 points.
That win put Kudus third on the log on 61 points, while Grootfontein moved up to 57 points in fourth place after beating Dolphins 54-22 at Swakopmund.
With fifth-placed Unam now 19 points behind on 38 points, and with only three matches remaining, they cannot catch Grootfontein anymore.
For Grootfontein, hooker and captain Wicus Jacobs scored three tries and lock Johannes Luttig two, while centre Niel Holtzhausen, eighthman Daniel Kock and prop Filippus Tshuuya scored one each. Centre Franklin Busch added six conversions and right wing Alfred Vercuil one.
Dolphins scored three tries through centre Renardo Doeseb, lock Jerome Schuuman and flyhalf Maughan Jarman, who added a conversion, while fullback Zaino van Wyk each added a conversion and a penalty.
Rehoboth, meanwhile, ran in eight tries in a dominant 53-14 home victory against Suburbs. Daniel Bezuidenhout and Miquel Busch scored two tries each, and fullback Manfred Garoeb, centre Elmarco Beukes, and substitute backs Deevan Mathys and Dolano Vries one each, while scrumhalf Jason Farmer added four conversions, Busch one conversion, and flyhalf Denvor Beukes one penalty.
Suburbs scored two tries through scrumhalf Adrian Engelbrecht and eighthman Nzola-Menza Nkunku while flyhalf Wyatt Brooks converted both.
