Otniel Hembapu
17 June 2011
Windhoek — After a somewhat sluggish start by the Welwitschias in their opening game in the IRB Nations Cup underway in Romania, in which they narrowly lost 13-11 against the hosts, Johan Diergaardt’s troops dusted themselves off and gave old foes Portugal a good run for their money – defeating the gutsy Portuguese 29-23 in Bucharest on Wednesday.
The unexpected tropical downpour at the Bucharest Rugby Stadium in the Romanian capital left the playing surface soaked, making things even harder for the Portuguese to play to their full potential.
This allowed the defending champions to score two tries via McGrath van Wyk and Theuns Kotze. Kotze added a penalty try after Portugal were penalised for collapsing the scrum in the opening 40 minutes, while his educated boot added to Namibia’s point tally with five penalties and two conversions for an individual contribution of 19 points.
“It was quite a tough game but we gave it our best and the ball was too slippery because of the wet weather conditions but we eventually got the desired result,” he enthused.
Another positive contribution to the squad was the inclusion of Kotze who missed the opening match.
The Namibian flyhalf made a huge difference and showed great quality that gave the team a much-needed lift.
Diergaardt urged rugby followers back home in Namibia to rally behind the boys.
“The boys need your support right now and I’m sure they will do us proud in games to come and perhaps retain the trophy,” said the clearly overjoyed mentor.
Portugal scored two tries through Joao Correira and number eight Jacques Le Roux, followed by three penalties and two conversions by Pedro Cabal to ease the pain.
The Welwitschias’ next match is against Georgia on Sunday.
Additional reporting IRB website.
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Welwitschias in a Huge Fight Back