By Otniel Hembapu
WINDHOEK – Following his recent appointment as UNAM Rugby Club head coach, Namibia’s rugby 15, the Welwitschias, former coach Johan Diergaardt has promised to take the club to greater heights and hopefully win the premiership title.
In a brief interview with New Era Sports yesterday, Diergaardt said he has big plans for the university club and one of his short-term goals is to create a formidable outfit that will be a force to reckon with but obviously taking it game by game.
“I really feel good to be back in rugby and to be involved with young talent. To be quite honest, I have a lot of responsibilities and work to do but we will take it game by game while closely focusing on our ultimate goal [of] becoming one of the biggest clubs in the country’s flagship rugby league,” said Diergaardt.
“As for this coming season, one of my main objectives is to at least reach the league playoffs and hopefully win the league title. My players are young and have great talent, so it’s just a matter of getting the basics right and then we will be good to go as a team.”
Diergaardt, who coached Namibia at the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, was previously head coach of Khomasdal-based outfit Western Suburbs for eight years and was also assistant coach of the Welwitschias before becoming the head coach.