So, the Welwitschias’ fairytale journey in the ongoing IRB World Cup has finally come full circle after a brutal 320 odd minutes of blood, sweat and tears.
Namibia was making her 5th successive assault on the global showpiece but the Namibian amateurs failed in their bid to fashion a win, at least in winnable matches. Surely, the likes of Tonga, Georgia and to a lesser extent, a weakened Argentinean side, were there for the taking.
Nevertheless, the Namibian part-timers put their battered frames on the line and certainly left a lasting impression with their never-say-die display. To sum it up nicely, the performance of the Namibian rugby team can be likened to the Halo Effect. The Halo Effect occurs when a single aspect dazzles and affects how we see and analyses the entire picture.
It will always work the same way, because a single quality produces a positive or negative impression that outshines everything else. The performance of our national rugby team at august events appears to have found consolation in the halo effect.
As it stands, we tend to be easily carried away by the team’s courageous display and keeping the scoreboard as low as possible, as compared to our previous assaults – rather than looking at alternatives in the area of improvement.
We cannot just remain mere participants – Namibia has demonstrated at the 2015 IRB World Cup that it has a decent pool of players that can be more competitive if properly handled – and the buck stops with the powers that be at Lichteinstein Strasse. Those who have been entrusted with the duty of administering the oval ball should put their ducks in a row without further delay, if we are to take the game to the next level.
Global rugby powerhouse, the South Africa Rugby Union (SARU) has a moral obligation and social duty towards the development of rugby in the southern African region, notably in Namibia. It’s crystal clear that Namibia should start making advances to get back into the structures of the highly competitive South African Provincial Currie Cup if we are to revive the ailing fortunes of domestic rugby.
South Africa extended a hand of goodwill to Argentina – formerly minnows in world rugby – to compete in the Currie Cup, from which vatage-point the Pumas made rapid leaps in their progress. Lest we forget, the Pumas subsequently graduated to the Super League, alongside world rugby heavyweights, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. So why not offer the same olive branch to their kid brother, Namibia? I’m just asking.
The bigger you are, the harder you fall
Yours truly hopes and trusts that when Jermain Jackson, penned down the lyrics of his hit song, “The bigger you are, the harder you fall”, the afro-haired American Tamla Motown star did not have Namibian cyclist, one Raul Costa Seibeb in mind.
Reports suggests Namibia’s leading cyclist, Costa Seibeb, has become a law unto himself and those close to him claim the boy has grown a head the size of the moon in the aftermath of his recent successes that have seen him winning cycling races as if the art of winning was going out of fashion.
It has since emerged that the boy’s newfound arrogance appears to have no boundaries after he apparently refused point-blank to participate in a team race during Namibia’s participation at last month’s Quadrennial All Africa Multi Sports Games in Congo, Brazzaville.
It should be pointed out that his mere presence in Congo was at the expense of Namibian ratepayers. Any kind of investment in a relationship must be reciprocated and athletes should be made to adhere to a code of conduct whenever representing their native land.
Talent alone will not take you anywhere, because those you pass on the way up are the very same people that you will meet on the way down. My advice to the young man is: humble yourself and keep your feet on the ground. I rest my case.