Africa-Press – Namibia. Namibia’s 2027 Rugby World Cup dream is still alive after the Welwitschias posted an emphatic 86-29 victory against the UAE in Uganda on Saturday.
Despite conceding the first try, Namibia fought with passion and pride as they overpowered UAE in a 13-try romp to clinch a spot in the final World Cup qualifying tournament in Dubai in November.
UAE took an early lead when eighthman Emosi Vecenau burst through for a try converted by Max Johnson, but it didn’t last long as Namibia clicked into gear.
Left wing Jurgen Meyer went over in the corner after a quick backline move, and although a Johnson penalty put UAE 10-5 ahead, Namibia took the lead for the first time when eighthman Richard Hardwick crashed over with flyhalf Andre van der Berg adding the conversion.
With Namibia’s forwards clicking into gear, hooker Torsten van Jaarsveld scored two near-identical tries from powerful rolling mauls, but UAE stayed in the hunt at 22-17 when fullback Jack Stapley went over for a converted try.
Namibia maintained their high tempo attacks with Hardwick finishing off a period of sustained pressure. Although the UAE reduced the deficit to 29-22 when Johnson charged down Van der Berg’s kick to score, Namibia soon pulled away.
Lock Oliver Kurz barged over the line after some quick hand-to-hand passes, while a Van der Berg penalty gave Namibia a healthy 39-22 lead going into the halftime break.
Namibia immediately came out firing after the break with substitute wing Aston Mukwiilongo turning on the pace to touch down, while right wing Danie van der Merwe rounded off another swift attack to put Namibia 53-22 ahead.
With Namibia’s forwards going into overdrive, replacement lock Adriaan Ludick crashed over for a try and although Vecenau went over for his second try to make the score 60-29, Namibia finished stronger and completed an emphatic win with four more tries in the final quarter.
Speedster Mukwiilongo scored his second after racing onto a grubber by Alcino Izaacs; Max Katjijeko scored after a great run by Danie van der Merwe, and replacement hooker Armand Combrinck scored twice, both from powerful rolling mauls.
After the match, Namibia coach Jacques Burger said it was a well-deserved victory.
“If we are just a bit more mature in the way we play, it’s going to be tough to beat us, and the great thing is it shows where African rugby is at the moment. Zimbabwe deserved to qualify, but now we’ve got another shot, and we deserved that today. There’s a lot to work on, but we’ll go back to the drawing board and make sure we are better next time,” he said.
Burger said his side showed a lot of character to come back after losing the Africa Cup final against Zimbabwe the previous week.
“It was a week of hurt, and we lost a lot of players, but everyone we called in said they wanted to be involved, and with a short amount of time together, they came in and put their hands up,” he said.
“We can do so much better; there were a lot of small mistakes, but we will work on that, and I’m happy with the win,” he added.
Namibia now go through to the final qualification tournament in Dubai in November, where four teams will battle it out for one final spot at the World Cup.
Belgium, who finished fifth in the European Championship, have also booked their place in Dubai, while the third-placed team from the South American qualifying tournament and the loser of the Pacific/South American play-off series will join them in Dubai.
Burger said they will make sure that they are well prepared for the Dubai tournament.
“It’s going to be extremely tough against some tough opposition. We only have three months; all the players will go back to their clubs, so the preparation time does make it a bit tough, but we asked for a second shot, and now we’ve got a second shot, so we have to make it work, and we’ll do that,” he said.
“We need to show people the character in this team, and with our backs against the wall, we will fight for that last spot, I promise you that,” he added.
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