Near-victory for Kudus

The Namibian rugby season is in full swing, with the University of Namibia (Unam) and Kudus Rugby Club meeting in the first reserve and premier league games at Walvis Bay on Saturday.

In the premier league game, Unam were victorious with a score of 24-22 against Kudus. Despite the loss, Kudus dominated the game until the final whistle.

Ulriato Lawrence opened the scoreboard for Kudus by scoring a penalty. Former Kudus player Chad Plato scored the first try for Unam, which was converted by Lorenso Lius.

Unam's Camlo Martin scored the second try for his team after finding a gap in the Kudus defence line. Lius did not manage to convert the try, but retaliated by scoring a try for his team and converting it too.

Kudus fought back, with Lloyd Jacobs scoring the first try for his team and Ulriato Lawrence successfully converting the try.

During the final moments of the first half, quick thinking and handling skills in the backline saw Unam's Sunday Haitembu scoring the final try for his team. Lius missed the conversion. The halftime score was 19 – 10.

Kudus came back with a vengeance after the break and Joshua Jacobs scored the second try for his team. Replacement Rayton Paulse converted the try.

Lloyd Jacobs scored another try for his team, but Paulse missed the conversion kick. The score stood at 22–24. During the final minutes of the game, Paulse had two chances to score penalties for his team, but was unsuccessful.

Kudus 2 pocketed the reserve league game against Unam with a score of 24–22. Try scorers for the home team were Irwin Damants, Aston Makwiilongo and Sidney Nalape.

This was Makwiilongo's debut match for Kudus. Leroy Stevens successfully converted two tries, including a penalty, while Haroen Gordon converted one try.

The try scorers for Unam were Venomuinjo Mberiua, Buruxa Geiseb and Lee-Anzo Losper. Rodney Coetzee and Bjorn Kazondunge converted two of the tries. Unam coach Johan Diergaardt described the premier league match as a nail-biter.

“We played very good rugby but all credit goes to Kudus, as they showed immense character. It was a game of two halves, and if the ball bounced correctly they could have won, but thank God we won that game.”

Diergaardt said the reserve league match had a few bumps, but overall he was satisfied with the game.

“Things fell apart during the second half. We had numerous injuries which hampered our play but we are not using that as an excuse. Kudus made us work hard for that game.”

He also said that about 14 of his players were not present at this game, but would be working harder to make up for it.

Kudus coach Collin Stevens said it was a tight game against Unam.

“We came late into the match and the two previous tries we lost against Unam cost us the game. At the end of the day rugby triumphed,” Stevens said.

“We were also playing away from our home field, and maybe if we did play at the House of Pain in Narraville, the outcome might have been different.

“With this score, I can see we are growing. With the addition of the Erongo Rugby Academy team under the wing of Kudus, we are taking rugby in Narraville to greater heights. As for the next game, we will take it as it comes.”

Kudus will meet Wanderers in Windhoek on Saturday, while Unam will play against Reho Falcon.

In the first division, the Erongo Rugby Academy (ERA) played against Swakopmund's Dolphins. The Dolphins trashed ERA with a score of 200. The try scorers were Randy Cowan, Elmo Gamiseb, Lorenco Klaase and Ashley van Wyk.

In another first-division match, the SFC Vikings won 31–24 against Sparta United, formerly known as the Walvis Bay Rugby Club.

This Saturday, Vikings will play against Dolphins at Swakopmund, while ERA will meet Sparta United in Walvis Bay.

LEANDREA LOUW