Gymnasium holds the edge for 2022

Hosts Windhoek Gymnasium got the better of Windhoek High School (WHS) in almost all of the 'main' sports codes in the sixth annual Interhigh between these two rivals.
Five days of good-spirited competition were concluded with the under-19 first rugby team clash at a fully packed Lions Den stadium on Saturday night – a highly entertaining match-up which the Windhoek Gymnasium Lions won 25-17.
The WHS Kudus took the lead twice in the match (9-8 in the first half and 17-15 in the second half), but it was the team in red and black that capitalised on two disastrous handling mistakes that each gifted them a decisive try.
Gymnasium left wing Lu-Hendro de Waal (also a gifted cricketer and sprinter) scored two exciting tries to mark himself as one of the individuals to watch this season. His first try of the match (5-0) was scored after just two minutes as fullback Divan Steyn made the line break and sent the speedster over.
The kickers JW Visagie (one penalty for Gymnasium) and scrumhalf Caeden Moller (three penalties for WHS) were next on the scoreboard as WHS briefly took the lead, then but immediately gave it away as their outside backs failed to handle a Gymnasium exit kick – handing De Waal the opportunity to kick the loose ball ahead and win the sprint to dot down for the five-pointer, which Visagie converted (15-9).

Lost momentum
Gymnasium also lost some momentum when they lost two players in quick succession to yellow cards – captain and number eight Janneman Brand (21st minute) followed by centre Suramie Kambombo four minutes later.
With a quick tap from the latter penalty, WHS sent right wing Quirione Majiedt over for an unconverted try to cut the deficit to only one point at half-time.
WHS struck first after the resumption with a huge penalty from within their own half by replacement number eight Joe Losper (15-17).
Flyhalf JW Visagie restored Gymnasium’s lead with another penalty before the home side struck the decisive blow that took the match away from WHS. Once again WHS failed to handle a kick chase with a badly executed long pass, which ended up in the hands of Gymnasium flank Ruan Agenbag, who scored under the posts from 25 metres out.

First home win
Winning coach Janneman Brand said: “All credit to both sides who never gave a step backwards. My boys remained disciplined despite the two yellow-card losses and, in the end, it is discipline that decides big matches.
“I also think the constant improvement of a better spirit among the two schools is very special and a good sign for the whole country.”
His son and namesake, the captain, was equally chuffed.
“This was the first rugby Interhigh (first team) that our school has won as host. Perhaps a fact that not many people are aware of, but it was an important victory for our team.
“The loud support for each school definitely added to the occasion and contributed to all of us lifting our levels. It was an amazing experience," Brand junior said.
WHS lock and captain Hanjo de Klerk said: “We played well enough to make this feel like a win for us, although we didn’t get the result we wanted. We could see that our game plan was effective and we feel ready for the start of the league.
“It truly was a special occasion. You start feeling the nerves even two or three weeks before the match, so in my view it could even be bigger than the league final."

Team sports
The Gymnasium boys first hockey team’s 8-0 win over WHS completed a stunning turn-around from the result of recent years when the star-studded blue teams had an extended period of domination.
Owen Hatton scored four goals for Gymnasium, along with one each by Jack Fourie, Mathew Lassen and Hannes von Wielligh.
The first team girls hockey match finished at 0-0, while Gymnasium were also hard to beat on the netball court.
The under-19 A result went to Gymnasium by 44-35, with most of the younger age groups also indicating the health of their stream of talent.