Welwitschias ready for Burkina Faso in France

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Senior men’s national rugby team coach, Allister Coetzee says preparations for the upcoming 2022 Rugby Africa Cup quarter-finals against Burkina Faso in France on 01 July have gone well and they look forward to the tournament.

Speaking to Nampa on Monday from the team’s Stellenbosch training base before departure for France later that night, Coetzee said preparations in South Africa had been completed and were a success.

“We had a very successful training camp in Stellenbosch. Warm-up matches against Maties and Italy A were good preparation for the qualifiers. The Italians were tough at the set-pieces and we learnt good lessons. We also did not have our full-strength side but it helped us to grow our depth in the squad,” he said.

Namibia played three preparatory matches prior to their departure to France for the tournament, the first one being a trial match against South Africa’s provincial franchise side, the Blue Bulls in Windhoek (losing 47-12), before facing Stellenbosch (won 36-19) and Italy A (lost 46-22) in Cape Town.

Coetzee added that they started preparations for the game against Burkina Faso on Sunday and Monday, which they will continue in Marseilles, France with two other training sessions.

The former Springbok and Western Province coach said all is going well and he is impressed with the development and growth of the squad despite injuries and the absence of some senior experienced players.

He also revealed that Max Katjiteo and Lesley Klim had been omitted from the squad due to injuries.

“Our focus is just our first game and all our energy is channelled into that game. We are excited and looking forward to it,” he said.

Namibia plays Burkina Faso in the quarter-final match on 01 July 2022 with the winner facing either Zimbabwe or Ivory Coast in the semi-finals.

The winner of the semi-final match will go on to play in the finals against either Senegal, Algeria, Uganda or Kenya.

The victorious team from the final will automatically qualify for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, while the losing finalist will play the Repechage just before the Rugby World Cup kicks off on 08 September 2023.

The Repechage tournament is a one-off event to determine the final two teams to participate in the 2023 Rugby World Cup, also to be held in France.

Below are the names of the 28 players to participate in the qualifiers in France:

Forwards – Desiderius Sethie, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Aranos Coetzee, Johan Retief, Wian Conradie, Adriaan Booysen, Chemigan Beukes, Louis van der Westhuizen, Jason Benade, Ruan Ludick, Jaco Venter, Jano Otto, Orbert Nortje, PJ van Lill, Adriaan Ludick and Prince Gaoseb.

Backs – Damian Stevens, Cliven Loubser, Divan Rossouw, Johan Deysel (captain), Hilarius Kisting, PW Steenkamp, Danco Burger, JC Greyling, Jacques Theron, Alcino Isaacs, Gershwin Mouton and Lorenzo Louis.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency