Namibia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3)22 Uganda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0)12
Namibia’s Under-19 rugby team overcame a nervy first half to eventually outmuscle Uganda 22-7 in their second match at the CAR Under-19 Championships at Prince Edward’s Jubilee Field yesterday.
Namibians’ lock Christian Van Wyk touched down two tries to add to further tries by flanker Reimers Sven, while fullback Daniel Bock slotted home a penalty and two conversions.
The Ugandans who had the Namibians on the back foot for the better of the first half got their points through a converted try by fullback Philip Wokorach before Jude Ochen crossed over the other try on the stroke of full time.
The Namibians’ victory ensured that Zimbabwe now have to beat the Namibians in their last match on Saturday to book a place at next year’s Junior World Rugby Trophy.
This was Namibia’s second win in this tournament after chalking up a 9-8 win over Tunisia in their first match last Saturday.
However, the result was not as straightforward for the Namibians as the scoreline suggests and even their coach Henk Botha admitted that they needed to work harder for the decider against the Young Sables.
“We are delighted with the victory, but our performance was not really up to the standard we would have hoped to achieve. We will resume our preparations knowing that it’s not going to be easy in the last match against Zimbabwe where we need a better performance than what we displayed today (yesterday),’ said Botha.
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The Namibians broke the deadlock in the fifth minute courtesy of a close-range penalty by their skipper Bock to give them a 3-0 half-time lead.
Bock would miss two close-range penalties in the first four minutes of the second half before Sven dived over nine minutes in the second half after a pick-and-go in the Ugandan’s 20-yard box.
Wokorach reduced the deficit for the Ugandans to just a point four minutes later with a converted try after being released by centre Justin Kimono.
However, two tries by Van Wyk in a space of five minutes ensured the Namibians got home comfortably despite a late try by Jude Ochen on the stroke of half-time.
