NAMIBIA’S Welwitschias put on their best performance in their Vodacom Cup match against the Griquas at the Hage Geingob Stadium on Saturday.
Although the Welwitschias lost the match 29-27, they gave an inspired display against the defending Vodacom Cup champions, which will give them a lot of confidence for the rest of their campaign. The Griquas seemed to be heading for a comfortable victory when they streaked into a 17-6 lead by halftime, but a great second-half comeback by the home side saw them coming right back into the match.The Welwitschias nearly even pulled off a shock victory but substitute back TC Losper’s penalty two minutes from time went narrowly wide of the target. Namibia’s forwards gave a great performance, holding Griquas in the scrums, while the whole team defended superbly. Namibia, in fact, had to defend for most of the first half, as the Griquas dominated possession and gradually built up a commanding lead.Their scrumhalf Donold Stevens put them ahead with a sixth-minute penalty, before centre Barry Geel crashed over for the first try on 14m, with Stevens once again adding the conversion. Fullback Chrysander Botha opened Namibia’s account with a penalty, but Griquas struck back through a try by fullback Bjorn Basson after an overlap on the left wing.With Stevens once again adding the conversion, they took a commanding 17-6 lead into halftime.The Welwitschias struck back within a minute of the restart when centre Bradley Langenhoven intercepted a Griquas backline move and raced about 70m to dive over behind the posts. With Botha adding the conversion, the Welwitschias were right back in the game at 17-13. Griquas stretched their lead to 22-13 when fullback Basson went over for his second try after Steph Roberts broke the line, but the Welwitschias refused to give up and once again struck back when prop Johnny Redelinghuys went over for a try from a forward drive, with Botha adding the conversion. Griquas struck back with a try by substitute forward, Wesley Wilkins, converted by Geel, but Namibia came surging forward in the final stages and captain Jane du Toit went over for a try in the corner after a great break by PJ van Lill to reduce the deficit to two points. Namibia pushed hard in the final stages, but replacement back TC Losper missed a drop goal attempt as well as a 50m penalty that drifted narrowly wide of the target. Namibia’s standout players were eighthman PJ van Lill, who produced some storming runs, and fullback Chrysander Botha, who once again had a fine all round game. The Griquas coach Dawie Theron congratulated Namibia on a great performance after the match. ‘I must lift my hat off to Namibia because they really played well. It was a lot tougher than expected and they gave us a lesson in the kicking game today. We didn’t pitch up for the game and we made a lot of mistakes,’ he said.’It was well deserved for Namibia and they really came close. They really played well and I think they can give a lot of teams a hard time when they come here. But we have a lot of hard work to do because we want to be the Vodacom champions again,’ he added. – www.namibiasport.com.naVodacom Cup resultsMarch 13Pampas XV 73-14 BorderBoland Kavaliers 25-24 SWDSharks XV 26-17 Free StateEastern Province 23-28 Western ProvinceGolden Lions 22-27 Blue BullsWelwitschias 27-29 GriquasMarch 12Pumas 66-14 Griffons
