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Sports

Namibia kicks off Africa Cup with emphatic win …as they beat Burkina Faso

2024-07-222024-07-22By Staff Reporter
Namibia kicks off Africa Cup with emphatic win …as they beat Burkina Faso

Despite a dominant 38-5 victory over Burkina Faso in their opening match of the 2024 Rugby Africa Cup, Namibia’s head coach Allister Coetzee was not entirely satisfied with his team’s performance.

Namibia is currently competing in Uganda, where they began their campaign with victory at Mandela National Stadium in Nombole. The national men’s rugby team led 14-0 at half-time, and completed the match with a 38-5 scoreline, advancing to the knockout stages of the tournament. They will face neighbours Zimbabwe, who narrowly defeated host nation Uganda 22-20.

Coetzee expressed concern
 about his team’s execution, particularly in the first half. The coach also highlighted the team’s discipline issues, conceding seven penalties in the first half. 

“We didn’t get off to the start we wanted, especially in the first half. There are no excuses, but we were off-colour, and made a lot of unforced errors in our set-pieces, particularly the line-outs. They weren’t accurate enough to apply pressure. Another issue was the lack of scoreboard pressure, as we missed a couple of simple kicks,” he stated. “We also conceded seven penalties in the first half, which is quite a high number. Because of these mistakes, Burkina Faso gained some confidence, and put us under pressure defensively,” he added. 

Namibia’s next match is on Wednesday. Coetzee cautioned that it will be a tough encounter, emphasising the need for thorough preparation. 

 “We have a lot of work ahead of us for the next game against Zimbabwe, who also had a strong start against Uganda. They have experienced players, and looked well-organised in their match. It won’t be easy, but we are looking forward to it. We will do our homework, and ensure we prepare well,” Coetzee noted. 

According to Wikipedia, the Rugby Africa Cup is a biennial men’s rugby union tournament involving the top 16 African nations, based on their World Rugby rankings. Organised by Rugby Africa, the tournament was first held in 2000, and was renamed the Rugby Africa Cup in November 2019, previously known as the Africa Cup since 2006.