Kudus’ energy will test Wanderers’ depth

Club rugby
The rematch between the NRU premier league finalists will draw much attention.
Andrew Poolman
The long awaited first encounter between FNB Kudus and FNB Wanderers since the Walvis Bay rugby club won their maiden NRU premier league trophy in the first half of the 2025 season should deliver another great show on Saturday.
Wanderers will have the home advantage, hosting the formidable boys in blue for matchday two of the JSB Gold Cup.
Kudus were in great form when they returned to action last weekend at their Jan Wilken Stadium, outclassing Trustco United by 43-14. Influential number 8 Ja-Tamson van der Berg scored twice himself and was a big presence, as Kudus scored seven tries against two.
This week, Kudus also announced the names of three premier league players who have now joined their ranks. Wing Dolano Vries still played for FNB Rehoboth at Wanderers last weekend during their competitive 37-43 loss.
Suramie Qhena-Kambombo (ex-Windhoek Gymnasium and Namibia U20 last year) had a previous stint with Kudus and returns from FNB Unam offering an option at outside centre or wing.
Prop Joshwin Solomon, a former Walvis Bay school boy and Namibia U20 player, also registered with Kudus from wanderers.
Kudus director of rugby Roger Thompson says they prefer to appreciate the return to action more than being held back by the realisation that preparation will never be perfect after an eight-week break.
“The format of the Gold Cup will demand improvement every week. Even though we won last weekend, we were not entirely satisfied with our performance and we zoomed in on key focus areas where we’d like to improve when we execure under pressure.
“A fixture against Wanderers in Pionierspark is never easy, but that’s the nature of a competition like the JSB Gold Cup, which presents different challenges every week.
“We are happy that we built a team that can step up when the going gets tough, or when called upon. Hopefully we can travel well and make the Kudus faithful happy once again.”
Wanderers fielded two speedy new signings in Irongwa Atshivudhi (from Kudus) and Vivean Goawseb (from Rehoboth) last week, who both responded as try-scorers. Dirk Human's team will likely also welcome back some of their national team players who took a break after the long tour of Uganda.
• Elsewhere, FNB Grootfontein’s visit to FNB Rehoboth should also get the competitive juices flowing. Both teams have taken turns of eliminating each other from top-four finishes and should again be well matched.
• Grootfontein and Rehoboth will both be looking to rebound strongly from narrow losses to FNB Unam and Wanderers last week.
Unam and United’s match at the Unam Stadium will also pit two potent rivals desperate to keep their season on course.
• Wanderers vs Kudus will be the LIVE broadcast match on NTV and https://oneuptwo.com/