Following a protracted layoff due to the virulent Covid-19 pandemic, the Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) has earmarked end of this month for the return of activities in the Namibia Premier Rugby League.

NRU acting CEO Theo Grunewald shared with New Era Sport yesterday, the union has been laying the groundwork for the gradual return of the league, and clubs have equally been hard at work preparing ahead of the premiership’s much-anticipated return.

“On the recommendations of World Rugby, clubs were given a six-week period to fully work on their conditioning and overall fitness in order to be ready when league action resumes,” he noted.

Welcoming the return of local club rugby, University of Namibia Rugby Club (Unam RC) head coach Johan Diergaardt expressed happiness with the recommencement of league activities, but admitted more work needs to be done around the players’ fitness levels and competitive edge.

“We have been training for the past three weeks; we have been on the pitch training hard and things have been going well. Although we had been training, I still think we have a lot of catching up to do ahead of the league’s return. But we are looking forward to the return of action. The players, technical staff and everyone at large are optimistic about the resumption of the league,” he said.

- mkambukwe@nepc.com.na