THE Windhoek Draught Welwitschias showed great resilience in their Mzansi Challenge match against the San Clemente Rhinos on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough as they suffered a narrow 25-24 defeat.
Had flyhalf Henrique Olivier had his kicking boots on they would have won the match, as he missed two straightforward penalty attempts in the closing stages, but despite the defeat the Welwitschias will draw hope from their stirring performance, which gave the home fans plenty to cheer about.
The two sides were evenly matched throughout, with both sides scoring three tries, while the lead constantly changed hands throughout the enthralling encounter.
The Rhinos are based in California, United States, but have quite a cosmopolitan side, with players from several countries, including even Namibia, with a former national u20 loose forward Wynand Breytenbach turning out at lock for the visitors on Saturday.
They got off to a quick start as eighthman Luke Thompson went over from a maul after only two minutes, with flyhalf Jack Hart adding the conversion.
The Welwitschias immediately struck back and after pounding away at the Rhinos’ line, leftwing JC Greyling went over for a try and with Olivier adding the conversion they were level at 7-7.
The Welwitschias took the lead for the first time through an Olivier penalty, but the Rhinos came back with lock JJ Scheepers barging over for an unconverted try to take a 12-10 lead at halftime.
The Welwitschias came back with a vengeance after the break as scrumhalf Jacques Theron went over for a converted try after a fine break by Hillian Beukes, but the Rhinos soon regained the lead at 19-17 when Akuila Koloamatangi went over from a forward maul, with replacement flyhalf Danny Mokhoabane adding the conversion.
A Mokhoabane penalty put the visitors 22-17 ahead, but the Welwitschias struck back with a great try when rightwing Gershwin Mouton cut through the backline at pace and with Olivier adding the conversion they went 24-22 ahead heading into the final quarter.
The Rhinos once again regained the lead at 25-24 through a Mokhoabane penalty, but the Welwitschias rallied strongly in the final stages when they could well have won the match after winning two penalties.
Both Olivier’s attempts, however, were narrowly off target, with the first one hitting the post, as the visitors held on for a hard-fought victory.
Despite the defeat it was an encouraging display by the Welwitschias, with several players catching the eye.
Centre Danco Burger had a great game, as he defended resolutely and regularly broke the gain line in attack, while Greyling and Mouton added speed and precision on the wings.
Up front Max Katjijeko and captain Prince !Gaoseb both displayed a high workrate in attack and defence, but !Gaoseb unfortunately spoiled his performance with a knock-on when he could well have scored the winning try in the closing stages.
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