Naartjies clinches coastal bragging rights

Walvis Bay Private School edged coastal rivals Pro-Ed Academy 22-21 in a thrilling Momentum NSSU U19 Premier League clash on Saturday to secure local bragging rights.

The closely contested encounter remained scoreless for much of the opening half before the Naartjies struck first through Christopher Coetzee, whose try and successful conversion gave the hosts a 7-0 lead.

Walvis Bay Private School extended their advantage shortly before the break when MJ de Villiers crossed the whitewash, sending the home side into half-time with a 12-0 lead.

Pro-Ed Academy emerged from the interval with renewed determination and quickly reduced the deficit. Alvandro Diergaardt found a gap in the home side's defence and, with the conversion added, brought his team back into contention.

Adriaan Boonzaaier responded with a penalty for Walvis Bay Private School, but Pro-Ed continued to apply pressure and narrowed the gap to a single point when Miles Narib crossed for a try, making it 15-14.

Boonzaaier then delivered a crucial contribution for the hosts, scoring a try and adding the conversion to extend the lead to 22-14.

Tense finish

The visitors refused to surrender and set up a tense finish when Rhys Duvenhage scored Pro-Ed's third try. The successful conversion reduced the deficit to just one point in the closing stages.

However, the Naartjies held firm to secure a hard-fought 22-21 victory at the final whistle.

Walvis Bay Private School captain Johan van Wyk said the win was particularly special given the occasion.

"It is our matric year, our final Interhigh, and it is a league game. The boys played great," he said.

Van Wyk added that his side would need to maintain their momentum heading into their next fixture.

"It wasn't great rugby, but we pushed through. Kudos to Pro-Ed. We are grateful to them for coming to play this great game."

Dominant performance

Elsewhere, OK Bere produced one of the most dominant performances of the round, overwhelming Karstveld Academy 70-6. Moria's attack ran riot throughout the contest, piling on points at regular intervals while their defence restricted Karstveld to just a single scoring opportunity.

Tsumeb Gymnasium and Roots Gymnasium served up one of the matches of the weekend, with Tsumeb emerging 28-26 winners in a contest that went down to the wire. With only two points separating the sides at the final whistle, Tsumeb held their nerve in the closing stages to secure a valuable victory.

Autohaus Windhoek Afrikaans Private School also enjoyed a successful outing, defeating Dr Lemmer High School 46-26. Affies displayed their attacking quality by scoring 46 points, but were made to work hard by a determined Dr Lemmer side that remained competitive for large parts of the encounter before the Windhoek outfit pulled away.

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