Under-20 team overpowers Unam

There were a good number of pleasing aspects to coach Chrysander Botha as his Namibia Under-20 team beat the FNB University of Namibia (Unam) first team 31-26 in a friendly match at the Unam Stadium in Windhoek on Saturday.There will obviously be tweaks that could be improved on in the next days, but the national junior team once again seems ready to put up a strong challenge at the upcoming Rugby Africa Barthes Cup tournament, set to be held in Nairobi, Kenya.The U20 team overcame a reckoned opponent. Unam were victorious in the Namibia Rugby League (NRU) premier league 'final' last year, which was later declared null and void, and had remained so at their home stadium from April 2016 until the FNB Wanderers beat them 27-25 in a league match last year. For the student team, it was a worthy test before this coming weekend’s kick-off of the 2022 NRU league season – although the recent departures of star players Prince !Gaoseb, Lesley Klim and Peter Diergaardt - who have joined Tel Aviv Heat - have robbed them of some hardened core players.DominatedNamibia U20 most likely surprised the home fans in the way they dominated most of the exchanges – systematically building up a 21-5 lead before Unam finally responded with their first try in the final move of the first half. At halftime, the scoreboard read 21-12.Botha’s replacement of most of his frontline star performers enabled Unam to fight back to just a two-point deficit (26-28) with 10 minutes to go. However, he promptly sent them all back on the field to close out the match, as fullback Geraldo Beukes sealed the win with a neatly-taken drop goal.The Namibia U20 team, who last week lost their first friendly match against Western Suburbs by two points (14-12), will depart to Kenya on 6 April, challenging seven other nations to be crowned as the best in Rugby Africa’s continental junior tournament.ScorersNamibia U20: Tries by number eight Riaan Grové, left wing Owen Hawanga and prop Iyambo Tshuuya (two). Penalty goals (two) and a drop goal by fullback Geraldo Beukes; conversion (one) by replacement back Nathan Isaacs.Unam: Tries by flank Berry Gande (three) and replacement scrumhalf Shaquille Januarie. Conversions (three) by flyhalf Delron Brandt.

Under-20 team overpowers Unam

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-08

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Under-20 team overpowers Unam

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-08

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