THE Welwitschias take on the Leopards at the Hage Geingob Stadium on Saturday afternoon, still looking for their first win in this year’s Currie Cup competition.
The Welwitschias lost all 14 their matches in the Currie Cup qualifying campaign to finish last on the log, conceding 936 points and only scoring 171 in the process.
Last weekend they started the second round of the competition – the Currie Cup First Division – on another losing note, going down 54-23 to the South Western Districts Eagles in George, but at least they put in a better performance that will give them hope for the rest of their First Division campaign.
In the first round qualifiers, the Eagles crushed the Welwitschias 96-5 in Windhoek, but last weekend a strengthened Welwitschias team put in a much better performance in George.
The team included 10 players who had represented Namibia in the Africa Cup against Zimbabwe and their presence made a big difference as the Welwitschias held the Leopards to a narrow 17-9 lead at halftime before the Eagles took control of the match in the second half.
The Eagles scored a total of seven tries while the Welwitschias scored two through prop AJ de Klerk and centre Leslie Klim.
National scrum half Eugene Jantjies gave a solid performance at fly half, converting both tries and adding three penalties for a personal haul of 13 points.
The Welwitschias have just made two changes to that side, bringing in Denzil van Wyk for the concussed Muniovita Kasiringua at lock, while Rohan Kitshoff replaces Morne Blom at flank.
For the rest, the team shows a fine mix of youth and experience with upcoming players like Gert Lotter, Ruan Ludick, Zayne Groenewaldt and Cameron Klassen joining established national players like Kitshoff, Jantjies, Darryl de la Harpe, Leneve Damens, Heinrich Smit and Chrysander Botha.
Saturday’s encounter will be the Welwitschias’ first home match in the First Division competition, but the Leopards will pose a tough challenge, considering their early season form.
They narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Currie Cup Premier Division after finishing eighth on the Currie Cup Qualifiers log, while they also comfortably beat the Welwitschias 42-17 in their qualifying encounter in Potchefstroom in May.
On that occasion wing Rowayne Beukman scored two tries for the Leopards, while prop Bruce Muller, fullback Rhyno Smith, wing Bradley Moolman and centre Henko Marais scored one try each. Smith converted all six tries while the Welwitschias could only score two tries through centre Francois Wiese and lock Muniovita Kasiringua.
The Leopards also got their First Division campaign off to a winning start last weekend when they posted a narrow 26-24 home victory against Border Bulldogs in Potchefstroom.
In that match the teams were tied 12-12 at halftime but the Leopards raced into a 14-point lead with two tries. They however let the Bulldogs back into the game, conceding two tries in the final minutes, before holding out for a narrow win.
Border’s strong comeback against the Leopards will have given the Welwitschias hope to finally post a victory in this year’s campaign.
The match starts at 15h00 on Saturday afternoon at the Hage Geingob Stadium. Tickets are available at the gate at N$30 for adults and N$10 for scholars and students.
The Welwitschias squad is as follows:
Casper Viviers, Gerhard Lotter, AJ de Klerk, Denzil van Wyk, Ruan Ludick, Zayne Groenewaldt, Rohan Kitshoff, Leneve Damens, Cameron Klassen, Eugene Jantjies, Gino Wilson, Darryl de la Harpe, Heinrich Smit, Philip Nashikaku and Chrysander Botha.
The substitutes are Petrie Burger, Quintion Esterhuizen, Thomas Kali, Juhan Wohler, JC Winckler, Leslie Klim and Mahco Prinsloo.
