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Wanderers, Unam meet in final showdown


LAST year’s aborted Rugby Premier League final between FNB Wanderers and FNB Unam will now finally take place tomorrow to once and for all determine who are Namibia’s Premier League champions.

Wanderers and Unam should have contested last year’s final, but a late appeal by Western Suburbs to the Namibia Rugby Union against Wanderers for using a player who was not properly registered, was upheld and Suburbs replaced Wanderers in the final, which they lost 30-20 to Unam.

The whole season was, however, scrapped after Wanderers launched a counter-appeal which found that Suburbs as well as Unam had used improperly registered players.

This season, the two sides once again rose to the top after an engrossing title race. Kudus led the log for most of the season, but Wanderers finished stronger to finish on top at the end of the group stages.

Unam had an inconspicuous start and were a bit under the radar, but they stabilised their third position on the log, before beating FNB Kudus 23-18 in a close semifinal encounter.

Nothing much separated the two sides during the league, with Unam winning the first match 37-31 and Wanderers the second, 32-27.

With an extra week’s recovery and preparation time following the semifinals two weeks ago, both teams are fit and raring to go.

“The off week was good, we had a few injury niggles, but the players have recovered,” said Wanderers coach Rohan Kitshoff.

“Our preparations have gone well and we are ready – we will still brush up a few things at our final training session, but we are not going to learn any new tricks at this stage, we will just focus on doing the small things right and having the right mindset,” he added.

“Unam have had a very good run and we should have played them last year already, so it will be a rerun of last year’s final. Wanderers have proven they should be in the final while Unam have been very consistent, they are well-coached and showed that they should also be in the final. We will have to be at our best to beat them,” he said.

With Wanderers also playing in the Reserve League final and the Women’s final, Kitshoff said it will be a great day for the club.

“It’s going to be a big occasion for our club, so I’d like our supporters to come to the stadium for a great Wanderers day.”

Kitshoff, a former star flanker who represented Namibia at three World Cups is now in his second year as a first team coach and is excited about reaching his first final.

“It’s been great being a part of the Premier League, there is strong competition, and now it nearly feels like a test match, with butterflies in your stomach,” he said.

“But I have a strong supportive structure with Darryl de la Harpe and Willem van Zyl, as well as our second team coaches Shaun du Preez and Pieter Rossouw. We have built up a great culture at the club and on Tuesday the players had a dinner that some of the Wanderers old boys arranged,” he said.

His opposite number David Philander is also a former national stalwart, having played at two World Cups, while his speed off the mark and bewildering sidesteps made him a Namibian icon, who also played for

Taranaki and Spotswood in New Zealand.

“The preparations have gone well and we have had a good build-up to the final. We will stick to doing the same things that have worked till now but the boys are buzzing and looking forward to the final,” he said.

“We only have one injured player, Lesley Klim – he has been recovering from a knee injury, but we don’t want to rush him back too fast, so it will give another player an opportunity to make his mark,” he added.

“We have built up a traditional rivalry with Wanderers, it’s two big clubs, with big forwards, so I expect a massive collision. It is only fitting that Wanderers and Unam have reached the final, we have earned the right to be there. We expect our red army of supporters to turn up in numbers, it’s going to be a massive occasion,” he said.

The finals day will see three finals taking place with the women’s final between Wanderers and Rehoboth starting proceedings at 11h00.

The First Division final between Sparta and Ocean Swallows starts at 12h30; the Reserve League final between Wanderers II and Rehoboth II is at 14h15; and the Premier League final between Wanderers and Unam is scheduled to start at 16h10.





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