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Drama behind Rugby Premier League final revealed

Windhoek-After an intense final in the Namibia Rugby Premier League between Wanderers and United this past weekend, questions are still being asked about the drama that unfolded ahead of the game that was scheduled for Saturday evening. With rugby fans excited about the final of the Namibia Rugby Premier League last week, no-one could have imagined that the game would be cancelled the night before. In an unexpected turn of events, the Namibia Rugby Union issued a letter on Friday, indicating to both teams and their supporters that the final had been cancelled due to the appeal ruling received from UNAM on the 3rd of August. The unresolved matter dated back to the 28th of April 2018 when Wanderers broke UNAM’s unbeaten record by defeating the students 37-34. UNAM, however, noticed that Wanderers used two unregistered players and lodged a complaint with the rugby union two days later on the 30th of April. The case was not resolved in time by the NRU’s disciplinary committee; who only gave their verdict on the 23rd of July - two and a half months later. After the ruling was finally made, Wanderers were supposed to lose two points on the log. In a week leading up to the semi-finals, UNAM, lodged an appeal on the 24th of July because they felt the punishment was not good enough. United captain and Chairman, Winmar Rust, wrote to NRU and took to social media to express his disappointment over the matter. Rust wanted to know why the union dragged its feet to resolve the matter. Contacted for comment, NRU acting CEO Christopher Alexander said he was unable to comment on the matter– despite being the author of the letter informing the clubs that the game was called off. After 3-time champions UNAM withdrew the appeal, the game was played on Saturday afternoon and Wanderers won the encounter by 30 to 22. United captain Rust was upset, saying that this debacle had affected the psychological state of the players. He added that it was difficult to keep the players motivated and ready for the clash. Supporting Rust, Wanderers Captain, Nian Berg said the matter had a negative impact on them and that it took a while for the team to settle and concentrate on the game. He also added that he was disappointed in how the issue was handled by the NRU.

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Christel Kotze