WINDHOEK – Welwitschias coach Danie Vermeulen says lack of experience and adequate game time is partly to blame for the Welwitschias 25-8 defeat against a combined invitational South African team consisting of players from first division side Leopards and Pukke Rugby Club at the Hage Geingob Stadium on Saturday.
The match served as a preparatory game for Namibia, who will be competing at the upcoming Confederation of African Rugby (CAR) Division-1A tournament, a qualification tourney for next year’s International Rugby Board (IRB) World Cup in England. Coach Vermeulen admitted that his players still have a lot to do in terms of upgrading their game, since the visitors outplayed them in almost all departments of the match. However, he maintains that there is still room for improvement and the team still has about 5 weeks to wrap up preparations before heading to the CAR Division-1A tournament. Namibia will within a few weeks play two other preparatory matches against the South African Blue Bulls and Western Province at the Hage Geingob Stadium in Windhoek. “I’m very disappointed with the results and the way we played as a team.
To be honest, the visitors were better than us, because we could not match their standard but we will work on all our mistakes and hopefully be ready for the CAR tournament,” said Vermeulen.
By Otniel Hembapu