U19 Super League final a thrilling rematch
Schools rugby
Windhoek Gymnasium has made two changes, while WHS will field the same match-23 as in the semi-final.
All eyes will be on the Hage Geingob Stadium on Saturday as Samsung Windhoek High School (WHS) and King Price Windhoek Gymnasium once again clash in the highly anticipated final of the Standard Bank NSSR Under-19 Super League. The two powerhouses of the Namibia Secondary Schools Rugby’s top-flight will reignite their enthralling rivalry, and after last year's dramatic 34-34 draw, there's no doubt that the stakes are once again pretty high.
Twelve months ago, Gymnasium were forced to launch a determined fightback after scrum-half Denver Beukes was removed from the equation with a first-half red card for two technical offenses, shortly after having served ten minutes in the bin.
The Lions trailed 15-24 at half-time against a typically slick WHS attack, but after 70 minutes of intense rugby, the result was a 34-34 draw, with four tries each.
Since then, the bye-laws have been amended which dictated that the trophy be shared in case of a drawn result.
This year’s final promises to deliver a definitive winner, as the rules have been updated to ensure one team lifts the trophy, with extra-time applied before other tie-break options.
WHS and Gymnasium are once again closely matched – as their 22-21 result in favour of the home side at Vegkop Stadium three weekends ago demonstrated.
This time, the enterprising Kudu Bulls team’s place-kickers had an off day as they were behind 3-9 at halftime. A narrowly missed touch-line conversion attempt by Gymnasium fly-half Waldré Kotze off the final play could easily have swung the result the opposite way.
For the final, WHS coaches Jan Dames and Devano Alcock have made no changes to their match squad that eliminated OK Moria in the semi-final last weekend (45-27).
Gymnasium’s Mauritz Thirion and Jaco Engels have made slight tweaks to their proven combinations after their 27-26 semi-final win against PSG Pro-Ed, with Hanré Cocklin returning from injury to take over from Angelo Swartbooi at left wing. In a switch at loosehead prop, Gideon van Rensburg will start while Rudolph Harmse will be expected to make an impact off the bench.
Team line-ups
Samsung WHS: 15 Joshua Moller, 14 Alejandro Morkel, 13 Sammy Soobramoney, 12 Eljoh Strauss, 11 Eathan Sinden, 10 William Beukes, 9 Dominique Isaacs, 8 McHenry Kambatuku (C), 7 Jed Bekker, 6 Pieter-Jan Strydom, 5 Keanan Louw, 4 Isaiah Kazondovi, 3 Joshua Bester, 2 Marchall Klein, 1 Tauno Hamukoto.
Bench: 16 Xavier Louw, 17 Charlton Binga, 18 Cashton Cloete, 19 Luke Saal, 20 Keathan Klazen, 21 Ignatius Kandowa, 22 Sergio Steenkamp, 23 Xavier Bampton.
King Price Windhoek Gymnasium: 15 Carlo Hawanga, 14 Pieter-Stephan Stassen, 13 Janré van Zyl, 12 JD Jankowitz, 11 Hanré Cocklin, 10 Waldré Kotze, 9 Janco Bredenhann, 8 Ruan Agenbag (C), 7 Roché Brand, 6 Vincent Scholtz, 5 Zander le Roux, 4 Buhlem Oelofsen, 3 Daniël du Toit, 2 Jayvin du Plessis, 1 Gideon van Rensburg.
Bench: 16 Janco van Tonder, 17 Rudolph Harmse, 18 Gert Pretorius, 19 Hafeni Mungungu, 20 Noah-Luke Dihawa, 21 Jan-Daniël de Villiers, 22 Quinn Ellis, 23 John-Daniel Meintjies.
• Full fixture details of all age-group finals, as well as of NTV’s live broadcast times, are on page 2 today.