SA Students beat Namibia 34 – 24

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.

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!"

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.

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).