Otniel Hembapu
Windhoek
Namibia’s U/20 rugby side yesterday delivered a scorching performance to reach the final of the African Junior Rugby Championships after brushing aside islanders Madagascar by 66 -7 in their own backyard in Antananarivo.
In a one-sided match, the boys of the land of the brave were in top shape and brimming with confidence as they dominated the match from the onset, managing to head into the changeover with a comfortable lead of 33-7.
The second half was no different as the Namibians maintained a strong grip on proceedings to eventually win the match 66 -7.
With the victory, Namibia will now face Kenya in Sunday’s final. Kenya had earlier in the day defeated Zimbabwe 34-24 to book their place in the final.
The African Junior Rugby Championships, also known as the Africa Cup or Barthes U20, is for junior players and recently increased its age limit from 19 to 20. It will from now on going forward be referred to as the Barthes U/20.
This year’s edition started on April 17 and will end on Sunday with the final between Namibia and Kenya.
Since Tunisia have been relegated from group A to group B, they were replaced by Kenya that entered the tournament alongside Namibia, Zimbabwe and hosts Madagascar.
Namibian team for Supersport Rugby Challenge named
The Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) yesterday released the names of players that will line up against South African outfit Falcons for their 2017 SuperSport Rugby Challenge clash at the Bernard Stadium in Johannesburg tomorrow.
This will be Namibia’s first game in this year’s SuperSport Rugby Challenge, which was until last year known as the Currie Cup.
A squad of 22 players was announced, with Eugene Jantjies leading the side as captain. There is plenty of experience in the team, with players like Rohan Kitshoff, JC Greyling and Jantjies having represented Namibia at Rugby World Cup level before.
Most players in the squad also represented the country in previous editions of the tournament, hence a lot is expected from the team. Namibia’s next match will be against the Blue Bulls on April 29 at the Hage Geingob Stadium in Windhoek.
This year’s tournament is the first edition of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge, a secondary domestic rugby union competition in South Africa. The competition is organised by the South African Rugby Union (SARU) and will be played between April 22 and July 16. The competition will feature all 14 South African provincial unions plus the Namibian side, the Windhoek Draught Welwitschias.
The full squad is: Christo McNish, Shaun du Preez, AJ de Klerk, Muniovito Kasiringua, Max Katjijeko, Thomasua Forbes, Rohan Kitshoff, Leneve Damens (vice-captain), Eugene Jantjies (captain), Theuns Kotze, Gino Wilson, Darryl de la Harpe, JC Greyling, Lesley Klim, David Philander, Andries Rossouw, Gerhard Lotter, Collen Smit, Mahapisa Tjeriko, Victor Rodrigues, Francois Wiese, Aurelio Plato.
– additional info: Nampa