Namibia’s senior men’s rugby team will face Samoa on Wednesday in their second fixture of the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup qualification campaign, following a 22-15 loss to Belgium at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai on Saturday.
The defeat leaves the Welwitschias needing strong performances in their remaining matches against Samoa midweek and Brazil on 23 November to keep their qualification hopes alive.
Head coach Pieter Rossouw expressed disappointment at his team’s performance, citing unforced errors as the difference between victory and defeat.
“Very disappointed. I felt that we beat ourselves tonight. We made too many mistakes and failed to capitalise on key opportunities. Congratulations to Belgium, they deserved the win,” said Rossouw.
Captain Louis van der Westhuizen echoed the coach’s sentiments, saying Namibia showed hard determination, but started too slowly.
“It was an intense battle. We made too many errors early on, but I am proud of how the boys fought back. Rugby is a funny game, you’re never out until the last minute. We’ll regroup and plan for Samoa,” he said.
Belgium head coach Laurent Dossat praised his side’s discipline and composure, saying his players showed great character against a tough opponent.
“We wanted a strong start to the tournament, and the boys fought hard. Namibia is a quality team, so I am proud of how we held on. Still, we need to improve our discipline if we want to go further,” Dossat noted.
Belgium started the match with intensity, capitalising on an early Namibian mistake as prop Jean-Baptiste Declercq powered over for the opening try. Fly-half Matias Remue added a penalty and a conversion to give the Black Devils a 10-0 lead before scrum-half Julien Berger crossed under the posts to extend it to 17-0 at halftime. Namibia responded in the second half with a penalty by André van der Berg, showing improved composure, but Belgium’s captain Jean-Maurice Decubber added another try to keep his side firmly in control. Late tries from Johan Deysel and Johan Luttig gave Namibia a losing bonus point.
In the day’s other fixture, Samoa began their qualification campaign with a convincing 48-10 victory over Brazil, setting up a crucial encounter with Namibia. Belgium will next face Brazil on Thursday.
– Additional information from Rugbypass