With the world cup kicking off today, John Heynes, the CEO of the Namibia Rugby Union (NRU), believes the team is on par to be able to pull off the best results ever.

The national men’s team, better known as the Welwitschias, are in a tough Group A alongside host nation France, Italy, Uruguay, and powerhouse New Zealand. Namibia’s opening match will be against Italy tomorrow.

This year’s tourney will mark Namibia’s seventh World Cup appearance; however, the big question still remains if the team will get their first ever World Cup win. In a recent exclusive interview with this publication, Heynes, who took over as CEO earlier this year, said he believes that the team and the entire stakeholder community have done all the necessary things to ensure that the team registers its first ever World Cup win.

He said that looking at the strides made by the union, such as getting sponsors on board and getting a very experienced coach (Allister Coetzee) who has done it on the highest level, he believes the team is in a great position to challenge for a win at the World Cup.

“If you look at the results we produced in our preparatory games, I think it’s something that every team would envy, and if we can have a group of players training together every day for the next three years, I am certain we would be able to jump rankings. If you have a coach who has been around a high performance centre and have players that understand the process, that makes it a good fit, and Coetzee is someone who understands the two country’s cultures and fits well in the team, which makes it perfect for us to make sure we leave a statement,” he said.

He added that the unions play a very instrumental role in terms of preparing the team to be ready for the much-anticipated competition. “We made sure since the day that he arrived that we supported him and made him understand the vision, and he has aligned himself with the vision we have to get a first win for the team,” he added.

- mkambukwe@nepc.com.na