Africa-Press – Namibia. THE president of the Namibia Rugby Union, Corrie Mensah has confirmed that the Namibian Welwitschias will not be competing in Division 1 of the Currie Cup this year due to the exorbitant costs.
“We had negotiations with the South African Rugby Union but we would have had to pay for all our expenses as well as that of the visiting teams and it’s just too expensive. It’s quite a setback, because the Currie Cup would have provided a great opportunity for our local players to get more exposure and to raise their level and conditioning,” he said.
“There is still a big gap between local club rugby and international rugby so they need this exposure to try and get to the level of our foreign-based professionals for when the World Cup qualifiers come up in July in France,” he added.
It is quite a setback for Namibia’s preparations for the World Cup qualifier, especially since one of its biggest rivals, Zimbabwe, recently confirmed its participation in the Currie Cup, while Kenya and Georgia are also likely to compete.
“We did our application last year to participate in the domestic competition in South Africa and it was accepted,” the president of the Zimbabwe Rugby Union, Aaron Jane was quoted as saying by newzimbabwe.com
“So, it is with great pride and joy to announce our participation in this prestigious competition and we will officially set up a base in South Africa for the competition. The key to our success will be the participation and support of all Zimbabweans and indirectly,” he added.
Mensah said they hoped to play a few friendlies against South African Currie Cup teams.
“We hope to play against Griquas, that’s been budgeted for, but we are still in discussions with our sponsor. Besides that we will see if we can arrange a few more friendlies against other Currie Cup teams like the Pumas,” he said.
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