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Home / Welwitschias going for the jugular against Uruguay
Welwitschias going for the jugular against Uruguay
2017-11-17Staff Report 2 Otniel Hembapu Windhoek-Good ball-handling skills, discipline and applying a bit of intensity will be some of the ingredients Namibia will need to overpower the visiting Uruguayans when they lock horns tomorrow in the first of their two World Cup test matches at the Hage Geingob Stadium in Windhoek, coach Phil Davies strongly believes. Davies, mentor of Namibia’s rugby fifteen, the Welwitschias, yesterday said it is important they win tomorrow’s clash, as it will set the tone going into the second match, which is scheduled for the weekend of November 27. The two test matches will also serve as preparation for next year’s 2019 World Cup qualifiers slated for June and July. The 2019 World Cup will take place in Japan. At yesterday’s press conference, Davies said although some of his senior players will not be available for the test matches, he remains confident his charges have what it takes to give Uruguay a good run for their money and hopefully scrape through with decent results. Some of the veteran campaigners missing on Davies’ radar for the two test matches are captain Renaldo Bothma, Johan Deysel, Pieter-Jan van Lill, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Johannes Coetzee, Shaun du Preez, Louis van der Westhuizen, Janco Venter, Divan Rossouw, Dirk von Weidtz and Wiaan Conradie. But the Walsh gaffer is unfazed by his team’s lack of needed depth, saying his arsenal boasts a raft of highly talented youngsters ready to fill the void and come tomorrow, he will unleash a well-balanced side ready to push Uruguay to the limit. “The objective of these test games is primarily to serve as preparation for next year’s World Cup qualifiers, because qualifying for the 2019 World Cup is our biggest and only objective at the moment. “But besides the World Cup, we also want to continue improving our world rankings and also grow as a team, so these kind of test matches are equally important for us as coaches to try out various combinations and also to expose our young players to highly competitive rugby,” Davies said. It will not be an easy task against the in-form Uruguay side, as the South American team earlier this year hosted and won the Nations Cup and have been riding the crest of the waves since. They are expected to display the same kind of ferocity and cohesion when they face the Namibians tomorrow. The Namibian squad: Casper Viviers, André Rademeyer, Nelius Theron, Collen Smith and AJ de Klerk. Hookers: Obert Nortje and Niel van Vuuren, Uanivi Adriaan Ludick, Mahepisa Tjeriko and Max Katjijeko, Prince !Goaseb, Rohan Kitshoff, Christo van der Merwe, Thomasua Forbes, Adriaan Booysen, Helarius Kisting, Eugene Jantjies, Damien Stevens and Wihan von Wielligh, Theuns Kotze, Clive Loubser, PW Steenkamp, Darryl de la Harpe, Justin Newman, JC Greyling, Lesley Klim and Heinrich Smit, David Philander, Johann Tromp, Gino Wilson and Chrysander Botha. 2017-11-17Staff Report 2
