SA Students beat Namibia

The SA Students team won their one-off international against Namibia in PE on Saturday, with the cream of the Varsity Cup – among them two Ikeys – winning 34-24 against their World Cup opponents.

The students led 10-3 at half-time in a very physical encounter and they upped the tempo significantly in the second half, which created a few holes in the home side's defence.

The scoreline could well have been a bit bigger, had it not been for injuries on the SA Students team – with Sam Mabombo, Helmut Lehmann, UCT prop Wesley Chetty and André Smith all leaving the field with niggles.

Shimlas loose forward Fanie van der Walt replaced Maties skipper Lehmann at half-time and impressed in the second half and the new-look front row of Os Hamman (Maties), Francois du Toit (UJ) and John-Roy Jenkinson (NWU-Pukke) scrummed well.

SA Students coach Chean Roux, the long-time FNB Maties mentor, tweeted (@cheanroux) on Saturday evening, "Good win and great vibe: SA Students 34 – Namibie 24!"

Earlier this week, Roux's charges – led by FNB UJ's Justin Wheeler – went down 19-36 to the EP Kings in Port Elizabeth.

Saturday's win over Namibia, who played in the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, was a great result for the SA Students – made up solely of Varsity Rugby players.

The SA Students' scorers:
Tries: André Smith 2, John-Roy Jenkinson, Hugo Kloppers, Divan van Zyl
Cons: Francois du Toit, André Kemp 2
Pen: F du Toit

The SA Students squad:

Forwards (12): Fanie van der Walt (No.8, FNB Shimlas), Justin Wheeler (flanker, FNB UJ – captain), Helmut Lehmann (flanker, FNB Maties), Sam Mbombo (flanker, FNB Maties), Siyanda Ndlovu (lock, FNB NWU-Pukke), Marnus van Huysteen (lock, FNB UJ), Hugo Kloppers (lock, FNB Maties), Stephan 'Os' Hamman (prop, FNB Maties), John Roy Jenkinson (prop, FNB NWU-Pukke), Wesley Chetty (prop, FNB UCT), Neil Rautenbach (hooker, FNB UCT), Francois du Toit (hooker, FNB UJ).

Backs (10): André Smith (fullback, FNB Maties), Rian Arends (winger, FNB Wits), Joe Seerane (winger, FNB NWU-Pukke), Mark Hodgskiss (FNB Maties), Joubert Engelbrecht (centre, FNB NWU-Pukke), André Kemp (flyhalf, FNB Maties), Francois du Toit (flyhalf, FNB Shimlas), Pieter Rademan (scrumhalf, FNB Shimlas), Rudy Paige (scrumhalf, FNB UJ), Divan van Zyl (utility back, FNB UJ).