Windhoek
With the Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) already hard at work strategising for the 2019 World Rugby Cup in Japan, NRU president Bradley Basson says the country’s participation in this year’s Currie Cup in South Africa couldn’t have come at a better time for the Welwitschias.
Speaking in the capital yesterday at the official announcement of the Welwitschias’ participation in this year’s Currie Cup, where sponsors Windhoek Draught, FNB, Auas Motors and Paratus Telecom reaffirmed their financial support towards the team’s participation, Basson touched on the importance of Namibia using the Currie Cup as a platform to build on the success achieved at last year’s World Cup in England.
“As a union, we have so many programmes lined-up for the national team and with highly competitive tournaments like the Currie Cup it should be a perfect start for our boys and a great platform to get much-needed exposure. Our ultimate goal is to make an impact at the 2019 World Cup,” Basson said.
First contested in 1889, the Currie Cup is South Africa’s oldest domestic rugby competition and with the inclusion of Namibia to the 2016 edition, the competition has now been expanded to a seven-month long tournament, which overlaps the Super Rugby season.
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) announced late last year that the Currie Cup would include 15 teams and 166 matches, up from the 76 games played in 2015 – with every team facing every other team in the first stage of the competition between April 9 and July 23.
The Vodacom Super Rugby unions will move on to the Premier Division, along with the three non-franchise teams with the greatest number of log points. The remaining six will contest the First Division title.
The second stage competitions will also be played over a single round and points will not be carried over from the first stage. Both the Premier and First Division will have semi-finals, while the final in both divisions will take place at the home venue of whichever team was highest placed at the end of the second phase.
Basson also added that the Welwitschias’ participation in the 2016 Currie Cup fits perfectly with the NRU’s Legacy Programmes, which aim to continue mentoring and exposing local talent to high-level competitions, such as the Currie Cup and the Vodacom Cup.
“The NRU is currently in the process of establishing an academy, which will consist of players that will be prepared for such competitions and also to feed the national team leading up to the 2019 World Cup,” he said.