A massive final awaits

A massive Premier League rugby final lies in store when FNB Unam and FNB Wanderers clash at the Hage Geingob National Rugby Stadium tomorrow afternoon.

Both teams have been a cut above the rest during the league this season with Unam finishing on top of the log on 77 points and Wanderers just two points behind, while FNB Kudus trailed in third place on 62 points. 

There was little to choose between the two, with both teams winning 14 and losing only two matches, while they each had a win and a loss against each other. 

In the opening match of the season on 16 March, Unam held the upper hand with a 30-17 win, but Wanderers struck back with a bruising 27-24 victory three months later. That match was an intense battle characterised by huge collisions and courageous defence on both sides and another big forward battle can be expected tomorrow afternoon. 

In the semifinals a fortnight ago Wanderers cruised to a 49-24 victory against FNB Kudus, with flyhalf Denzo Bruwer adding 24 points, while Unam overcame FNB Grootfontein with a hard-fought 27-15 victory. 

While there was not much to choose between the teams this season, Wanderers have held the upper hand in recent years. It will be the third consecutive year that they are in the final, and although they lost a thriller 30-29 to United last year, they beat Unam 51-31 in the 2022 final. 

Unam, on the other hand, haven’t won the title for seven years now, with their last triumph coming in 2017 when they beat Wanderers 42-28 in the final. 

Unam coach Russel van Rooi said they are approaching the final with a calm mindset. 

“Our preparations have gone well and there’s a calmness in the camp. A few of our senior players have previously played in some finals, so they are using their experience to calm the younger players down,” he said. 

Both our centres Camlo Martin and Lesley Klim have injury niggles, I don’t know if they will be available, but otherwise we are at full strength and ready for the final,” he added. 

“We are expecting a very hard game with some hard collisions up front, but Wanderers also have some very good backs. I’ve watched some of their matches and have been very impressed by Jacques Theron and Denzo Bruwer. But I think we deserve to be in the final and we will go all out to win it,” he said. 

Wanderers, meanwhile, also have a few injury concerns according to their coach Dirk Human.

“We had a few disruptions in our training with some niggling injuries to Jacques Theron, DJ Holtzhausen and Nandi Karuuombe so we’ll only decide by Friday what our final line-up will look like. Besides that Jurgens Meyer will take over at fullback, while Natie Janse van Rensburg will move to the wing, but the line-up will be very similar to our semifinal team” he said. 

Human said he expected a tough battle. 

“Unam and Wanderers have a long rivalry, we have been in a few finals in recent years so I think its a well-deserved final. They like to play high tempo rugby and have a physical approach so I expect them to come with a strong forward onslaught,” he said. 

“It’s always difficult to predict how a final will go but I have the utmost confidence in my players, my coaching team and our management so I expect to win although anything can happen in a final. It will depend on who wants it the most and who dictates the game the best,” he added. 

The final kicks off at 15h30 and will be preceded by the reserve league final between FNB Wanderers II and FNB Kudus II at 13h30 and the women’s final between Unam Steenbokkies and Wanderers Bokkies at 12h00.