Kudus celebrate homecoming with win against Unam
FNB Kudus marked their long-awaited return to their home ground with a 35-26 victory over FNB Unam in a hard-fought NRU Premier League encounter at Narraville Rugby Stadium on Saturday night.
The match came in the fifth year that the two sides have competed for the Chandler Plato Challenge Cup.
For Kudus, the fixture was about more than the result. The club returned to Narraville Rugby Stadium after five years away. The Premier League clash kicked off at 19:00, bringing night-time rugby under floodlights to the stadium.
Unam made the stronger start, opening the scoring with a try and successful conversion to take a 7-0 lead. The visitors extended their advantage with a penalty before Kudus responded with their first try of the evening to reduce the deficit to 10-7.
Another Unam penalty made it 13-7, but Kudus continued to apply pressure and crossed the try line again. The conversion attempt struck the upright, leaving the hosts two points behind at 15-13.
Unam regained the advantage before halftime, going into the break with a 20-15 lead.
Kudus returned with renewed energy after the restart and quickly turned the game around, scoring shortly after halftime. The try was converted to put the home side ahead 22-20.
The momentum remained with Kudus as they added another try. The conversion was unsuccessful, but the hosts had opened up a 27-20 lead.
Unam responded with a penalty to make it 27-23. A try was ruled out for a forward pass for the home team, but soon found the try line again.
Unam added another penalty as they continued to fight until the final whistle, but Kudus held on to secure a 35-26 victory.
For Kudus captain PJ Walters, the victory was made even more special by the support from the community.
“Firstly, I want to say thank you to the crowd, to the community of Narraville, for coming out and supporting us today,” Walters said. “It's amazing to be back. This is our training field.”
Walters acknowledged that the conditions presented an additional challenge, with Saturday night being the first time the team had played a match under floodlights at the venue.
“It was a tough game. Night conditions, it's the first time playing at night,” he said. “I can't use that as an excuse because it's our training time, but some guys still need to adapt.”
Despite the challenges, Walters was pleased with the way Kudus finished. “Luckily we pulled it through at the end.”
He said the team would return to training to prepare for its next fixture against FNB Western Suburbs next weekend.
For Unam captain Alcino Izaacs, returning to the venue was also a nostalgic occasion.
“I was one of the fortunate ones to have played here before, back in the day. It's good to bring rugby back to the people,” Izaacs said.
Reflecting on Unam's performance, Izaacs described the match as a missed opportunity after his side had appeared to be in control.
“It's a Cinderella story for us. This is our glass slipper. We feel like we have the game, we're in the fight, and then the second half comes and we just lose focus,” he said.
The Chandler Plato Challenge Cup also carries personal significance for Izaacs, who described the late Chandler Plato as a family friend and an important mentor to many young people. He said the cup was a fitting tribute to Plato's legacy.
With Unam out of contention for the semifinals, Izaacs said the team would focus on rebuilding for the future.
“We're not going to make the semis anymore, so we're going to focus, keep the pride, keep the enthusiasm, work hard for next year, and hopefully we get more numbers to the field,” he said.
Scorers and awards
For Kudus, wing Aston Mukwilongo and lock Sheron Rossouw each scored two tries and Ja-Tamson van der Berg scored one. Aurelio Plato converted two tries and added two penalties.
Unam's tries came from left wing Don-Juan Beukes and flank Valentino Niigambo, while full-back Aljarreau Zaahl converted two tries and scored four penalties.
Rossouw was named as Kudus’ best forward and Mukwilongo as the best back for their performances. Each received N$1 000.
Kudus also received N$10 000 to donate to a charity of its choice after winning the Chandler Plato Challenge Cup.
