Welwitschias lose opening match of SuperSport Challenge

WINDHOEK, 22 APR  – The national rugby team, the Windhoek Draught Welwitschias, lost their opening match of the 2018 SuperSport Rugby Challenge 7-39 against the Hino Valke at the Hage Geingob Stadium in Windhoek on Saturday.
The second instalment of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge began with the Namibian team taking on the Valke in the first match of the northern pool.
The visitors were too strong for the home team as they scored six tries to win the match in front of a handful Namibians who came to cheer their team on.
Despite playing away from home, the Valke started the game like a house on fire, taking an early lead in the third minute. They had amassed a 27-0 lead by half-time.
The second half saw more organisation from the Welwitschias, who made their mark on the scoreboard when Janry du Toit’s individual brilliance outmanoeuvred the Valke defence for the home team’s only try of the day. Eugene Jantjies made no mistakes and converted from the spot to move his team to seven points.
The win against the Welwitschias puts the Valke top of the log with five points, while the Namibian team are bottom of the five-team log with zero points. Their next game will be against the Blue Bulls at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa on 28 April.
Speaking to the media after the game, Welwitschias coach Lyn Jones said a lack of match fitness played a big role in their defeat.
“We have a long way to go as a team in this competition, but I am happy to see the team is at least 10 times better than they were last year in terms of performance,” he said, adding that technical improvements are still needed if they are to realise their goal of winning one or two games in the competition.
Hino Valke’s tries were scored by Friedle Olivier (two), Don Mlondobozi, Andre du Plessis, Nazeem Wood and Andries Schutte. The conversions, meanwhile, came from Du Plessis (two) and Errol Jaggers, with Du Plessis also scoring a solitary penalty.
NAMPA