Naartjies put best foot forward in Super League
Schools rugby
Schools are reopening, which means the return of school sports. The Standard Bank Namibia Secondary Schools Rugby U19 Super League is back in action this week.
Walvis Bay Private School (WBPS) got their first winning points as their first team, the PSG Naartjies, beat Compack Tsumeb Gymnasium 39-7 on Saturday.
Tsumeb Gymnasium, returning to the Super League this year, were top of the log before the vacation break, with one win and a loss, although defeat in their third match will be a setback. Tsumeb had won their season opener against Elnatan 17-12 in May, before losing to Windhoek Affies 10-18 two weeks later.
The visitors from the north came up against an ambitious Walvis Bay team containing a healthy core of players who were part of the national schools team that recently traveled to South Africa to participate in the Under 18 Academy Week.
Michael Koopmann, the fly-half who captains WBPS, was part of the team that traveled to Johannesburg’s Jeppe High School. Koopman said: “It was a great experience in South Africa. There’s no rest and now we are back in the Super League. As a team, we are all excited and we want to see ourselves in the semi-finals of the competition.”
Koopman contributed three penalties and a conversion (11 points) to the win, while left wing Keanu Polster starred with three tries. Scrumhalf JD Rossouw, replacement centre Mark Lowings and flank Hanlo Schoeman were the other try scorers for the winners.
Walvis Bay’s pack, with the front row especially dominant, controlled the tight exchanges and laid the foundation for their backs to flourish, while the Naartjies defence also applied a lot of pressure on the visitors.
• On Friday at 17:00, title holders Schoemans Group Windhoek Gymnasium will play their second match, at home, against last year’s runners-up Autohaus Windhoek Affies.
• Log standings at https://rugby.my.na/
Walvis Bay Private School (WBPS) got their first winning points as their first team, the PSG Naartjies, beat Compack Tsumeb Gymnasium 39-7 on Saturday.
Tsumeb Gymnasium, returning to the Super League this year, were top of the log before the vacation break, with one win and a loss, although defeat in their third match will be a setback. Tsumeb had won their season opener against Elnatan 17-12 in May, before losing to Windhoek Affies 10-18 two weeks later.
The visitors from the north came up against an ambitious Walvis Bay team containing a healthy core of players who were part of the national schools team that recently traveled to South Africa to participate in the Under 18 Academy Week.
Michael Koopmann, the fly-half who captains WBPS, was part of the team that traveled to Johannesburg’s Jeppe High School. Koopman said: “It was a great experience in South Africa. There’s no rest and now we are back in the Super League. As a team, we are all excited and we want to see ourselves in the semi-finals of the competition.”
Koopman contributed three penalties and a conversion (11 points) to the win, while left wing Keanu Polster starred with three tries. Scrumhalf JD Rossouw, replacement centre Mark Lowings and flank Hanlo Schoeman were the other try scorers for the winners.
Walvis Bay’s pack, with the front row especially dominant, controlled the tight exchanges and laid the foundation for their backs to flourish, while the Naartjies defence also applied a lot of pressure on the visitors.
• On Friday at 17:00, title holders Schoemans Group Windhoek Gymnasium will play their second match, at home, against last year’s runners-up Autohaus Windhoek Affies.
• Log standings at https://rugby.my.na/
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