Africa-Press – Namibia. TEAM Windhoek Draught won the inaugural Windhoek Draught Franchise 10s Rugby tournament after beating DSTV 46-42 in yesterday’s final.
TEAM Windhoek Draught won the inaugural Windhoek Draught Franchise 10s Rugby tournament after beating DSTV 46-42 in yesterday’s final.
It was a worthy victory after Windhoek Draught made their mark on the tournament from the start last weekend. They won all their group stage matches bar one – a 47-37 defeat to DSTV last Saturday, but they stepped up a gear in this weekend’s knockout stages.
The two teams met once again in an eliminator for the final on Saturday, with Windhoek Draught winning 54-47, to go straight through to the final.
DSTV, meanwhile, booked their place in the final after beating UCom Mobile 32-17.
In yesterday’s final, DSTV struck first with a try by Conwil Draghoender, but Windhoek Draught took a 7-5 lead when Danco Burger dotted down with Andre van der Berg adding the conversion.
During the power point final four minute stage where tries counted double, the speedy Darryll Wellmann touched down for Windhoek Draught, while Delron Brandt scored for DSTV, and with Windhoek Draught leading 17-15 at the half time break it was still anyone’s game.
DSTV regained the lead after another Draghoender try converted by Cliven Loubser, but Windhoek Draught struck back with a Gino Wilson try to tie the score at 22-22.
Windhoek Draught, however, took control of the game when their strong running back Dylan Izaaks scored two tries in two minutes to put them 36-22 ahead.
DSTV tried hard to get back into the game and when Tiaan Martensen rounded off a great hand-to-hand passing movement with a try, they had narrowed the deficit to 36-32.
Windhoek Lager struck back with a try by Rowan Jansen after a fine run by Tsuuya Iyambo, and although DSTV captain Wicus Jacobs added a late try, it was not enough as Windhoek Lager held on for a 46-42 victory.
Jacobs had the consolation of winning the Player of the Tournament award, while Oderich Mouton of Ucom Mobile won the forward of the tournament award and Shareave Titus of Gravity Force the back of the tournament award.
Earlier Ucom Mobile won the bronze medal after beating Gravity Force 45-27 in the third place play-off.
The tournament saw a feast of running rugby, with a total of 187 tries scored, while Ucom Mobile led the way with 40 tries, followed by Windhoek Draught (38) and DSTV (37).
Windhoek Draught captain Jacques Theron said he was proud of his team.
“I’m feeling quite tired now, but I’m very proud of our team – the players and the coaching staff who came from all the corners of Namibia to play here,” he said.
“The tournament was a lot of fun, and I learnt a lot from it – each day someone brought something new to the practise field, so it was awesome to start learning from all the clubs around Namibia,” he added.
“I hope the tournament will continue to grow, it’s a lot of fun and I always say the more rugby the better,” he said.
DSTV captain Wicus Jacobs was gracious in defeat.
“Obviously it’s a bitter pill to swallow, but all credit to Windhoek Draught – they came out with guns blazing and they adapted to the game better than us so congratulations to them,” he said.
Regarding his player of the tournament award, Jacobs thanked his team mates for their support.
“Rugby is not a single mans’ game and I couldn’t have done it without my team. It was a tough tournament, but the guys pulled it through and I’d like to thank everyone who came out and supported it,” he said.
“I hope this tournament keeps going, it gives exposure to new upcoming guys, and I think it’s here to stay,” he added.
It was a worthy victory after Windhoek Draught made their mark on the tournament from the start last weekend. They won all their group stage matches bar one – a 47-37 defeat to DSTV last Saturday, but they stepped up a gear in this weekend’s knockout stages.
The two teams met once again in an eliminator for the final on Saturday, with Windhoek Draught winning 54-47, to go straight through to the final.
DSTV, meanwhile, booked their place in the final after beating UCom Mobile 32-17.
In yesterday’s final, DSTV struck first with a try by Conwil Draghoender, but Windhoek Draught took a 7-5 lead when Danco Burger dotted down with Andre van der Berg adding the conversion.
During the power point final four minute stage where tries counted double, the speedy Darryll Wellmann touched down for Windhoek Draught, while Delron Brandt scored for DSTV, and with Windhoek Draught leading 17-15 at the half time break it was still anyone’s game.
DSTV regained the lead after another Draghoender try converted by Cliven Loubser, but Windhoek Draught struck back with a Gino Wilson try to tie the score at 22-22.
Windhoek Draught, however, took control of the game when their strong running back Dylan Izaaks scored two tries in two minutes to put them 36-22 ahead.
DSTV tried hard to get back into the game and when Tiaan Martensen rounded off a great hand-to-hand passing movement with a try, they had narrowed the deficit to 36-32.
Windhoek Lager struck back with a try by Rowan Jansen after a fine run by Tsuuya Iyambo, and although DSTV captain Wicus Jacobs added a late try, it was not enough as Windhoek Lager held on for a 46-42 victory.
Jacobs had the consolation of winning the Player of the Tournament award, while Oderich Mouton of Ucom Mobile won the forward of the tournament award and Shareave Titus of Gravity Force the back of the tournament award.
Earlier Ucom Mobile won the bronze medal after beating Gravity Force 45-27 in the third place play-off.
The tournament saw a feast of running rugby, with a total of 187 tries scored, while Ucom Mobile led the way with 40 tries, followed by Windhoek Draught (38) and DSTV (37).
Windhoek Draught captain Jacques Theron said he was proud of his team.
“I’m feeling quite tired now, but I’m very proud of our team – the players and the coaching staff who came from all the corners of Namibia to play here,” he said.
“The tournament was a lot of fun, and I learnt a lot from it – each day someone brought something new to the practise field, so it was awesome to start learning from all the clubs around Namibia,” he added.
“I hope the tournament will continue to grow, it’s a lot of fun and I always say the more rugby the better,” he said.
DSTV captain Wicus Jacobs was gracious in defeat.
“Obviously it’s a bitter pill to swallow, but all credit to Windhoek Draught – they came out with guns blazing and they adapted to the game better than us so congratulations to them,” he said.
Regarding his player of the tournament award, Jacobs thanked his team mates for their support.
“Rugby is not a single mans’ game and I couldn’t have done it without my team. It was a tough tournament, but the guys pulled it through and I’d like to thank everyone who came out and supported it,” he said.
“I hope this tournament keeps going, it gives exposure to new upcoming guys, and I think it’s here to stay,” he added.
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