Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Windhoek Draught Griquas comfortably beat the Windhoek Draught Welwitschias 33-18 to win the Dr Hage Geingob Cup on Saturday.
The Welwitschias were still in touch at halftime when they trailed the Griquas 19-13, but they could not capitalise on their chances while some elementary mistakes like knock-ons and poor passes also contributed to their downfall.
The Griquas got off to a great start as their speedy winger Luther Obi ran in two converted tries within the opening 11 minutes of the game, as slick ball handling skills by Griquas’ backline left Namibia’s cover defence exposed.
Flyhalf Cliven Loubser opened the Welwitschias account with two penalties, but the Welwitschias were playing with stops and starts and couldn’t round their attacks off.
The Griquas took advantage as fullback Jay Cee Nel was sent away in space down the left wing to touch down and stretch their lead to 19-6.
The Welwitschias however struck right back, camping on the Griquas tryline and lock forward Adriaan Ludick finally went over for a converted try after sustained forward pressure, to make the halftime score 19-13.
Any hopes of a comeback were however soon dispelled when Griquas fullback Nel turned on the speed to cut through Namibia’s defence and send rightwing Rosko Specman away for a try and with flyhalf George Whitehead adding the conversion they went 26-13 ahead.
The Welwitschias struck back when the impressive flanker Wian Conradie went over from a driving maul after a fine attack by centre Danco Burger.
The Welwitschias pounded away but the Griquas’ defence stood firm and the visitors went further ahead when replacement forward Niel Otto went over, with Whitehead once again converting to put them 33-18 ahead.
In the final stages the Welwitschias had a few more scoring opportunities, but some handling errors and poor options put paid to their chances.
The Windhoek Draught Griquas therefore became the first rugby winners of the Dr Hage Geingob Cup, while the match also served as a final tune-up before Namibia flew out to Europe yesterday for their end of the year tour. They take on Spain in Madrid on 12 November and Canada in the Netherlands a week later.
Despite the defeat, Namibian coach Allister Coetzee said he drew hope from their performance.
“It’s not always nice to lose, but I see a lot of positives going forward. This was our first game since July and don’t forget we played against the Currie Cup finalists today and they’ve been together for three and a half months now playing in the Toyota Challenge Cup and other tough games, so they are a very experienced side and this helps us with out preparations going forward,” he said.
“I’m pleased with a few things – when we had possession and held the ball we looked dangerous. I thought we had more opportunities out there, and I think our breakdown work was much better. I think the set-pieces were not too good – we wasted a lot of line-out opportunities, so if we tidy up on those little things we could really have a better performance and a step up next week,” he added.
Two new players made their debuts for Namibia, with Le Roux Malan replacing the injured Alcino Izaacks at centre, while flanker Richard Hardwick came on as a second half replacement, and Coetzee said he was happy with their performances.
“I’m really impressed with the two players, they trained really well and fitted in well. They showed some good touches today, with ball carries and in defence, while Hardwick also made a good steal, so the team is growing in depth which augurs well going forward,” he said.
Coetzee said he was optimistic about the upcoming European tour.
“I’m positive – look Spain is a very good side, but at least we’ve got some game time under the belt now. If you look at a player like Janco Venter, he’s been out for four months, battling with concussion, but he at least he came through it positively. It was just our second week of preparation and it can only get better so I’m positive going forward,” he added.
The Welwitschias were still in touch at halftime when they trailed the Griquas 19-13, but they could not capitalise on their chances while some elementary mistakes like knock-ons and poor passes also contributed to their downfall.
The Griquas got off to a great start as their speedy winger Luther Obi ran in two converted tries within the opening 11 minutes of the game, as slick ball handling skills by Griquas’ backline left Namibia’s cover defence exposed.
Flyhalf Cliven Loubser opened the Welwitschias account with two penalties, but the Welwitschias were playing with stops and starts and couldn’t round their attacks off.
The Griquas took advantage as fullback Jay Cee Nel was sent away in space down the left wing to touch down and stretch their lead to 19-6.
The Welwitschias however struck right back, camping on the Griquas tryline and lock forward Adriaan Ludick finally went over for a converted try after sustained forward pressure, to make the halftime score 19-13.
Any hopes of a comeback were however soon dispelled when Griquas fullback Nel turned on the speed to cut through Namibia’s defence and send rightwing Rosko Specman away for a try and with flyhalf George Whitehead adding the conversion they went 26-13 ahead.
The Welwitschias struck back when the impressive flanker Wian Conradie went over from a driving maul after a fine attack by centre Danco Burger.
The Welwitschias pounded away but the Griquas’ defence stood firm and the visitors went further ahead when replacement forward Niel Otto went over, with Whitehead once again converting to put them 33-18 ahead.
In the final stages the Welwitschias had a few more scoring opportunities, but some handling errors and poor options put paid to their chances.
The Windhoek Draught Griquas therefore became the first rugby winners of the Dr Hage Geingob Cup, while the match also served as a final tune-up before Namibia flew out to Europe yesterday for their end of the year tour. They take on Spain in Madrid on 12 November and Canada in the Netherlands a week later.
Despite the defeat, Namibian coach Allister Coetzee said he drew hope from their performance.
“It’s not always nice to lose, but I see a lot of positives going forward. This was our first game since July and don’t forget we played against the Currie Cup finalists today and they’ve been together for three and a half months now playing in the Toyota Challenge Cup and other tough games, so they are a very experienced side and this helps us with out preparations going forward,” he said.
“I’m pleased with a few things – when we had possession and held the ball we looked dangerous. I thought we had more opportunities out there, and I think our breakdown work was much better. I think the set-pieces were not too good – we wasted a lot of line-out opportunities, so if we tidy up on those little things we could really have a better performance and a step up next week,” he added.
Two new players made their debuts for Namibia, with Le Roux Malan replacing the injured Alcino Izaacks at centre, while flanker Richard Hardwick came on as a second half replacement, and Coetzee said he was happy with their performances.
“I’m really impressed with the two players, they trained really well and fitted in well. They showed some good touches today, with ball carries and in defence, while Hardwick also made a good steal, so the team is growing in depth which augurs well going forward,” he said.
Coetzee said he was optimistic about the upcoming European tour.
“I’m positive – look Spain is a very good side, but at least we’ve got some game time under the belt now. If you look at a player like Janco Venter, he’s been out for four months, battling with concussion, but he at least he came through it positively. It was just our second week of preparation and it can only get better so I’m positive going forward,” he added.
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