Africa-Press – Namibia. NATIONAL rugby coach Allister Coetzee yesterday named a strong squad to take on Kenya in an international tournament in Stellenbosch on Sunday.
The match forms part of a four-nation series, with Zimbabwe also taking on Brazil, while the winners will square off next weekend, and with the 2023 Rugby World Cup qualifiers looming in France next year, the match will serve as an important barometer for Coetzee as he works towards building his strongest squad.
“We are still in the process of sifting through and making sure that come the qualifiers next year, we will have the best Namibian squad of 28 players,” he said yesterday.
“The expectation from these games are, besides the results, it’s really for the team to show their skill sets and see how they react and make decisions under pressure, and how well they execute on the day. This is still a process of building towards the qualifiers and another platform to use and help us grow as a team towards Rugby World Cup 2023,” he added.
Coetzee yesterday named a well-balanced team of experienced and upcoming players, made up of a strong pack of forwards and an exciting backline. Amongst the forwards, eighthman Renaldo Bothma will make his first appearance for Namibia in three years, and will form a powerful loose-trio along with Janco Venter and Wian Conradie, who play for English Premiership sides Saracens and Gloucester respectively.
Veteran forward PJ van Lill partners Max Katjijeko at lock, while Wanderers prop Herschelle van Wyk will make his national debut along with the experienced Obert Nortje and Aranos Coetzee.
Amongst the backs, Damian Stevens will partner Cliven Loubser at half back while captain Johan Deysel and wing JC Greyling add more experience, while some of the exciting newcomers include centre Danco Burger, right wing Oderich Mouton and fullback Lorenzo Louis.
Coetzee said their preparations have gone well. “There’s lots of energy and excitement in the camp, the players are working hard and we are very happy about the enthusiasm shown by the players and they cant wait to get on the field,” he said.
“We don’t really know much about the opponents – we respect Kenya and Zimbabwe as rugby playing nations, and Brazil have really done well against Canada in the Americas Cup. So we are well prepared, and I think the coaching and technical team are doing a great job,” he added.
Namibia, and Coetzee, got off to a rocky start in this year’s Africa Cup in the Ivory Coast on the third of July when they lost their opening match 24-13 to the hosts, but they made a fine recovery and kept their world cup hopes alive with a 52-10 victory against Madagascar four days later.
That saw them finishing just ahead of the Ivory Coast on points difference, with the two sides booking their place at next year’s Africa Cup finals, where Namibia will play Burkina Faso in the quarterfinals, while the Ivory Coast will face Zimbabwe.
Kenya also got off to a losing start in Group B of the Africa Cup which they hosted in Nairobi in July, losing a thriller 20-19 to Senegal, before beating Zambia 45-8 a week later.
That put Senegal and Kenya through to the quarterfinals, where Senegal will face Algeria, while Kenya will face Uganda. Namibia have had the better of Kenya in recent years, but Kenya has been their main challengers for a spot at the World Cup over the past decade.
In 2018, Namibia beat Kenya 53-28 to book a spot at the 2019 World Cup, while in 2014 Namibia just pipped them on points difference to book a spot at the 2015 World Cup. The Namibian team is as follows:
Herschelle van Wyk, Obert Nortje, Aranos Coetzee, PJ van Lill, Max Katjijeko, Wian Conradie, Janco Venter, Renaldo Bothma, Damian Stevens, Cliven Loubser, JC Greyling, Danco Burger, Johan Deysel (captain), Oderich Mouton, Lorenzo Louis.
Substitutes: Louis van der Westhuizen, Jason Benade, Gerhard Opperman, Johan Retief, Adriaan Booysen, Hilarius Kisting, Henrique Olivier, Jayden Bussel.
For More News And Analysis About Namibia Follow Africa-Press
