Welwitschias demolished by merciless Leopards

Home Front Page News Welwitschias demolished by merciless Leopards

WINDHOEK – Namibia’s Windhoek Draught Welwitschias’ winless streak in the Supersport Rugby Challenge on Saturday continued unabated when they suffered a humiliating 81-8 defeat at the hands of visiting South African outfit the Leopards at the Hage Geingob Stadium in Windhoek.

The home side comprised only local club players who had two days to prepare and could only succeed to convert a penalty and a try.  

Uazikamisa Mieze scored a try in the 49th minute, while Henrique Olivier made sure not to waste their penalty kick. JC Winkler who wore the captain’s armband felt that the two days were not sufficient as they still have to gel as a team going forward 

“We just recently met and the two days were not enough to get everything in order, but our next game against the Pumas we will be ready’’ he said.

The visiting side ran in a total of 13 tries and converted eight of the 13 chances created during the match. Despite not picking up a win before this, the team from North West managed to accumulate six log points in the North Section. The win in Windhoek catapulted them up to 11 points into fourth place on the standings.

The Leopards never let go of the lead in this one-sided affair and they raced to a 38-0 lead in just 30 minutes, with Eugene Hare scoring a hat-trick and Evardi Boshoff completing a brace of tries. The visitors ran in 13 tries in total, including eight first-half tries with Schalk Hugo converting eight of his 13 attempts.

The only try for the home side came from Uazikamisa Mieze (replacement forward) in the 49th minute, with Henrique Olivier slotting a first-half penalty goal.

Along with Hare’s hat-trick and Boshoff’s brace, Muziwandile Mazibuko, Morne Moos, Lungelo Gosa, Gustav du Rand, Andre Fouche, Bradley Moolman, Keagan Tait and Wilmar Groenewald all got their names on the score sheet.

The visitors came out firing on all cylinders after the break, much like the first half, with the scoreboard firmly tipped in their favour 50-3. Hare scored his third try minutes after the second half restarted.

Quality first phase ball and clinical attacking play ensured the visitors enjoyed virtually all the possession and territory. Groenewald rounded off the try-fest with five minutes to go, and despite Hugo missing the conversion attempt, the writing was on the wall, 81-8. 
The last two remaining matches for the Welwitschias will be against ISG Pumas this coming Saturday and Valke on 8 June at the Hage Geingob Stadium. – Additional reporting: Nampa/ANA

Scorers: Windhoek Draught Welwitschias: Try: Uazikamisa Mieze. Penalty goal: Henrique Olivier. Leopards: Tries: Eugene Hare (3), Evardi Boshoff (2), Muziwandile Mazibuko, Morne Moos, Lungelo Gosa, Gustav du Rand, Andre Fouche, Bradley Moolman, Keagan Tait, Wilmar Groenewald. Conversions: Schalk Hugo (8).