Sparta Crowned Champions of the Coast
Rugby
Just as promised, the Ongos Valley Sevens and Day of Dolphin tournaments delivered fast-paced, action-packed sevens rugby at the Vineta Central Stadium in Swakopmund on Saturday.Remaining undefeated throughout the day, Sparta secured their spot in the finals of the Ongos Valley Sevens and defeated their opponents, the Okahandja Highlanders, with a score of 22–17 in the final.
It was a tight contest, as the score stood at 17–17 by full-time. In extra time, Sparta scored the winning try, securing their victory.
Brandon Seister, the team captain of Sparta, said it was an exciting feeling to win.
"It was definitely a team effort. I really want to thank our team management, our coaches, and everyone who came out to support us. We worked very hard on the field, and when we signed up, we were already prepared. We came to dominate, not just to compete; that's why we were on a different level. We are going to take this momentum into the next one. We are champions!"
The MVP of the day, Angelo Pamplin, was also from Team Sparta.
In the Day of Dolphin tournament, a total of seven teams from NRU premier league clubs competed, including Dolphin’s second team. Unam remained the champions of the event when they defeated Rehoboth 35–14 in the final.
In addition to the rugby, a netball tournament also took place with 12 teams, where Team Sparta emerged as the winners to double the celebrations at the Walvis Bay sports club.
Rowhan Besser, chairman of Dolphin Rugby Club, explained that next year their wish is to further expand the sporting activities of the day.
“The plan is to include cycling, as well as football. We want to get the entire community involved. Additionally, with us being the host for the Global Sevens (set for 30 November), we saw the partnership with Ongos Valley 7s as great preparation ahead of this tournament.”
The final leg of the Ongos Valley 7s is set for next weekend, Friday 4 and Saturday 5 October, at Hage Geingob Stadium in Windhoek. Last weekend’s exposure should stand the competing sides in good stead.
The selected dream team representing the Coast was announced as follows, with Daniel Bock as coach:
Leandro Zeelie (Sparta), Jade Visagie (Sparta), Denilo Feris (Sparta), Vaino Gamatham (Sparta), Bradley Gawanab (Sparta), Brandon Seister (Sparta), Jayden Haidula (Oceans), Angelo Pamplin (Sparta), Hitjitevil Tjirere (Okahandja Highlanders), Bevin Kotzee (Sparta), Timothy Coleman (Oceans), Robert Simbo (Sparta).
The scores for the day were as follows:
Dolphin I 10–12 Western Suburbs
Kudus II 48–7 Dolphin II
Oceans 19–5 Vipers
Okahandja Highlanders 0–22 Sparta
Rehoboth 17–15 Reho Falcon
Dolphin II 12–31 Unam
Kudus 35–10 Dolphin I
Okahandja Highlanders 22–5 Oceans
Dolphin I 10–28 Unam
Reho Falcon 44–10 Dolphin II
Oceans 5–26 Sparta
Unam 26–10 Suburbs
Dolphin II 38–7 Rehoboth
Sparta 26–7 Vipers
Suburbs 12–31 Reho Falcon
Dolphin I 12–24 Rehoboth
Kudus 17–19 Unam
Vipers 0–29 Okahandja Highlanders
Rehoboth 15–12 Suburbs
Reho Falcon 12–33 Kudus
Ongos Sevens Cup final: Sparta 22–17 Okahandja Highlanders
Day of the Dolphin Cup final: Unam 35–14 Rehoboth