Africa-Press – Namibia. FNB Grootfontein threw the JSB Gold Cup wide open with a stunning 44-36 victory against FNB Wanderers on Saturday.
FNB Kudus also bounced back with a comprehensive 32-0 win against FNB Unam, while Trustco United got their stuttering campaign off with a dominant 66-30 victory against FNB Rehoboth. The results see Grootfontein joining Wanderers at the top of the log, but Kudus and Unam are now just behind them, while United is also within striking distance.
At Grootfontein, Wanderers suffered their first defeat of the season going down to an inspired Grootfontein outfit. The two sides weighed up evenly from the start with Wanderers taking a 7-0 lead but Grootfontein pulling back to draw level at 10-10. The home side took the lead for the first time at 17-10, but Wanderers once again pulled back to equalise at 17-17.
The momentum, however, swung Grootfontein’s way in the second half as they took a 36-17 lead with two tries and then went 39-22 ahead.
Although Wanderers made a concerted comeback to narrow the gap to 39-36, Grootfontein had the final say with a seventh try to seal a hard-fought victory.
Grootfontein’s try scorers were lock Oliver Mouton (two), fullback Lorenzo Louis, centre Ryan Coetzee, left wing Kano Shatukana, eighth man Joan Luttig, and hooker Wicus Jacobs, while flyhalf Franklin Busch added three conversions and one penalty.
For Wanderers, left wing Nandi Karuuombe scored two tries and lock forwards Wickus Cowley and Roche Janse van Vuuren one each, while centre Schalk Willem Kuhn scored one try and added four conversions and a penalty for a personal tally of 16 points.
The victory sees Grootfontein joining Wanderers at the top of the log on 13 points, with both teams having the same points aggregate.
Kudus, meanwhile, bounced back from their defeat to Wanderers with an emphatic 32-0 victory against Unam. Kudus scored five tries through fullback Aston Mukwiilongo, scrumhalf Rayton Paulse, flanker Alexander Jansen, substitute back Zane Williams, and flyhalf Michael Koopman, who added a conversion and a penalty, while substitute back Aurelio Plato added another penalty.
That win put Kudus right back in contention, in third place on the log with 12 points, while Unam are now fourth on 10 points.
United scored an emphatic victory against Rehoboth to record the first win of their campaign. The two sides weighed up evenly in the opening exchanges with Rehoboth taking a 7-0 lead through a converted try by centre Keathan Freygang, but United drew level when the scrumhalf Elzandro van Wyk nipped through from a scrum to touch down.
Rehoboth’s discipline, however, let them down as two players were yellow carded for infringements and United took full advantage. They gradually pulled away as tries by Thehard Lintvelt, Soobramoney Sammy, and centre Keanan Januarie all converted by flyhalf Enrique Husselmann gave them a comfortable 28-7 lead at the halftime break.
Rehoboth made a concerted comeback after the break but United eventually scored 10 tries in total to complete a comprehensive victory.
Sammy and Lintvelt both scored two tries in total, while the other try scorers were Husselmann, left wing Brandon Besser, prop Johan Brockman, and substitute forward Joshua Moller.
For Rehoboth, left wing Manfred Garoeb scored three tries and centres Keathan Freygang and Miquel Busch one each, while Busch added four conversions.
In a JSB Silver Cup match, the Southern XV team beat FNB Western Suburbs 45-26 at Keetmanshoop.
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