Unam pull away from the pack

UNAM pulled away from the chasing pack after beating Kudus 45-0 in a Namibia Rugby Premier League match at Unam Stadium on Saturday.

Unam streaked into a 33-0 lead by halftime and although Kudus gave a much better performance in the second half, Unam still managed to score seven tries to collect two bonus points.

Left wing Chessborough Lawrence, eighthman Bradley Klazen, flanker Reinhardt Carelse, centres Camlo Martin and Milaan van Wyk, right wing Sylvano Beukes and substitute wing Unomasa Kavita scored one try each, while full back Lorenzo Louis added five conversions.

Unam have now built up a six point lead at the top of the log. They lead on 14 points while United, who beat Reho Falcon 56-17 on Friday night, are second on eight points.

Unam coach Johan Diergaardt said their intensity dropped in the second half, but also congratulated Kudus on a fine comeback.

“We had a great first 40 minutes, but then the intensity dropped and we didn’t play too well in the second half. Kudus played much better in the second half when they attacked a lot, but we defended well,” he said.

Unam are now well ahead on the log after only three rounds, but Diergaardt said they would not become complacent.

“We treat each game as a new challenge and we want to improve our performance with every new game. There’s a league title at stake and every team that is participating wants to win it and it’s no different with us. Rugby is a strange game so we can still expect a lot of challenges ahead. We don’t fear any team, we only fear God,” he said.

Kudus’ convenor of coaches, Zane Jansen, said they needed to get back to the drawing board.

“Unam is a well drilled unit and we have a lot of home work to do, but we’ll be a different team in Walvis Bay. They dominated the match at certain times and their experience came through – we need to go back to the drawing board,” he said.

“At halftime I told the boys we need to man up and also be more physical and it worked for a while, but in the end the altitude also got to us,” he added.

At Suburbs Park, Western Suburbs beat Wanderers 30-27 in a close encounter. Wanderers held a 17-13 lead at halftime, but Suburbs defended superbly and made better use of their chances to score their first victory of the season.

Wanderers outscored Suburbs five tries to three but Suburbs’ fly half Justin Nel was the difference, scoring 15 points with the boot, while Wanderers’ goal kicker Mahco Prinsloo missed several kicks.

Suburbs’ try scorers were flanker Tjingairi Katjivi, centre Gino Wilson and right wing Collins Omalu, while Wanderers’ try scorers were hooker Gert Lotter (two), flanker Dirk de Meyer, full back David Philander and centre Francois Wiese.

Wanderers are now third on the log on five points, while Suburbs are fifth on four points.

On Friday night Trustco United stormed to a 56-17 victory over Reho Falcon in a match that came to a fiery end with a fight when the players walked off the field.

Exactly who was involved could not be determined, but United coach Jood Opperman claimed on Facebook that he had been punched and kicked by Reho Falcon players after the match.

It was a poor end to an entertaining match that saw Falcons holding United to a narrow lead till the final quarter when United powered away with five late tries.

Tuna Amutenya scored two and Neil van Vuuren, Lionel Nantes, Morne Blaauw and Naude Neethling one each, while they also got a penalty try.

Captain Winmar Rust gave an excellent kicking display, converting all his conversions for a personal haul of 16 points.

For Reho Falcon, Enrico Benade and Reginald Araeb scored tries, while fly half Desley Beukes converted both and added a penalty.

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