The Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) has announced the Namibia senior women’s sevens rugby team that will participate in the Rugby Africa Regional Sevens South Tournament Scheduled for Lesotho in January.

In a media release availed to Nampa on Monday, the NRU said the tournament will take place between 29 and 30 January 2022, and will serve as both the Sevens World Cup and Commonwealth Games pre-qualifiers.

Speaking to Nampa on Tuesday, Coach Christel Janet Kotze said preparations had been ongoing since December and everything is on track.

“We had two COVID-19 positive cases in December, but the girls have recovered well. The spirit in the camp is high and the girls are relishing the experience. Namibia has not had a national women’s sevens team in a long time, so we will be realistic with our expectations going into this tournament,” she said.

She added that none of the players had played international sevens matches before, hence they will use this tournament as a yardstick to measure where the country stands when it comes to women’s rugby.

Kotze said despite the lack of experience, they are aiming to be as competitive as possible.

The team will leave for Lesotho on 27 January and return on 31 January.

The 12 players and three officials who will represent Namibia at the tournament are:

Players:

Chriszenthia Gustava Bassingthwaighte, Euodia Lucille Bassingthwaighte, Demetria Alicia Gertze, Gabriella Jahs, Shandre Jantjies, Ndapanda Kakundi, Ivone Irene Koper, Letisha Sarah Iyaloo Matheus, Roberta Liandra Fabio Mautnouhe, Kaurirongua Mungunda, Tammy-Lee Roodt and Fiola Vliete.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency