Unbeaten momentum meets home advantage
Club rugby
Hosts Unam face an uphill battle against Wanderers, with both clubs managing disruptions in their race to secure league points.
FNB Unam has it all to play for in the 9th round of the 2023 Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) Premier League.
The students have their sights set on fourth place as they sit in fifth place having only won three games and lost five. They face a tough test as they take on second-placed FNB Wanderers.
FNB Wanderers is the only team that has not lost a league match this year – despite two wobbles in home field draws against FNB Kudus (19-19) and most recently last weekend’s come-from-behind recovery against FNB Rehoboth (25-25).
Coach Russel van Rooi’s Unam team is therefore going to depend on the support of the home fans to get them past a determined team that’s on a roll.
So it’s set to be an exciting weekend. Namibia Media Holdings’ Network Television Channel (NTV) will be broadcasting the first-team live on DStv channel 285 and GoTV channel 25. Alternative platforms to watch will be oneline at https://oneuptwo.com, as well as the Facebook page of Republikein.
Unam, having sunk to seventh position this season after starting right on top with a 78-5 rout of FNB Reho Falcon, is recovering with a good run of form.
The students have won their last back to back away games against FNB Grootfontein (44-17) and their latest win against FNB Reho Falcon by a convincing margin of 38-26.
With a few injuries to experienced stalwarts still impacting the side, the UNAM team have to depend on their top players to lead the team against a well-organized Wanderers side.
Wanderers are undefeated, having won six matches and drawn two. Despite being largely disrupted through injuries and work commitments in their backline especially, coach Dirk Human’s Wanderers managed a fightback to draw against Rehoboth last weekend.
This result could have gone either way, with memorable moments such as a late try-saving tackle by Wanderers wing Nandivatu Karuuombe, replacement fly-half Eugene Jantjies landing the conversion to Danie van der Merwe’s try to equal the scores, and Rehoboth’s Henrique Olivier missing a final penalty attempt in the dying seconds.
A lot to play for in this match with both teams aiming to go up the table.
In the NRU Reserve League, Wanderers II (36 points) currently leads Kudus II (35), while Unam’s second team is in seventh place (9 points from 8 matches).
• In other matches on Saturday, FNB Grootfontein travel to Olympia to take on Trustco United. The Windhoek side took a 42-14 win in the north during their April visit.
• FNB Western Suburbs host FNB Rehoboth in Khomasdal. Suburbs are fourth and Rehoboth sixth, but with 21 and 19 log points respectively, the race is firmly on.
• At Rehoboth, FNB Reho Falcon await the in-form log leaders FNB Kudus, who ran away to win 71-3 in the first round at Walvis Bay.
HEAD TO HEAD
21 April 2023 at Wanderers: Wanderers 1 beat Unam 1, 35-20
League final 2022 (3 September) at Hage Geingob Stadium, Wanderers I beat Unam 1, 51-31
6 August 2022 at Wanderers, Wanderers 1 beat Unam 1, 32-27
18 June 2022 at Unam, Unam 1 beat Wanderers 1, 37-31
2 October 2021, at Unam: Wanderers 1 beat Unam 1, 27-25
The students have their sights set on fourth place as they sit in fifth place having only won three games and lost five. They face a tough test as they take on second-placed FNB Wanderers.
FNB Wanderers is the only team that has not lost a league match this year – despite two wobbles in home field draws against FNB Kudus (19-19) and most recently last weekend’s come-from-behind recovery against FNB Rehoboth (25-25).
Coach Russel van Rooi’s Unam team is therefore going to depend on the support of the home fans to get them past a determined team that’s on a roll.
So it’s set to be an exciting weekend. Namibia Media Holdings’ Network Television Channel (NTV) will be broadcasting the first-team live on DStv channel 285 and GoTV channel 25. Alternative platforms to watch will be oneline at https://oneuptwo.com, as well as the Facebook page of Republikein.
Unam, having sunk to seventh position this season after starting right on top with a 78-5 rout of FNB Reho Falcon, is recovering with a good run of form.
The students have won their last back to back away games against FNB Grootfontein (44-17) and their latest win against FNB Reho Falcon by a convincing margin of 38-26.
With a few injuries to experienced stalwarts still impacting the side, the UNAM team have to depend on their top players to lead the team against a well-organized Wanderers side.
Wanderers are undefeated, having won six matches and drawn two. Despite being largely disrupted through injuries and work commitments in their backline especially, coach Dirk Human’s Wanderers managed a fightback to draw against Rehoboth last weekend.
This result could have gone either way, with memorable moments such as a late try-saving tackle by Wanderers wing Nandivatu Karuuombe, replacement fly-half Eugene Jantjies landing the conversion to Danie van der Merwe’s try to equal the scores, and Rehoboth’s Henrique Olivier missing a final penalty attempt in the dying seconds.
A lot to play for in this match with both teams aiming to go up the table.
In the NRU Reserve League, Wanderers II (36 points) currently leads Kudus II (35), while Unam’s second team is in seventh place (9 points from 8 matches).
• In other matches on Saturday, FNB Grootfontein travel to Olympia to take on Trustco United. The Windhoek side took a 42-14 win in the north during their April visit.
• FNB Western Suburbs host FNB Rehoboth in Khomasdal. Suburbs are fourth and Rehoboth sixth, but with 21 and 19 log points respectively, the race is firmly on.
• At Rehoboth, FNB Reho Falcon await the in-form log leaders FNB Kudus, who ran away to win 71-3 in the first round at Walvis Bay.
HEAD TO HEAD
21 April 2023 at Wanderers: Wanderers 1 beat Unam 1, 35-20
League final 2022 (3 September) at Hage Geingob Stadium, Wanderers I beat Unam 1, 51-31
6 August 2022 at Wanderers, Wanderers 1 beat Unam 1, 32-27
18 June 2022 at Unam, Unam 1 beat Wanderers 1, 37-31
2 October 2021, at Unam: Wanderers 1 beat Unam 1, 27-25
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