After going down 22-31 against South African side SWD Eagles in their opening match of the Mzanzi Challenge last weekend, the Windhoek Draught Welwitschias are determined to bounce back and coach Chrysander Botha has sent a stern warning to the Falcons. 

The Namibians will on Saturday return to action with a clash against the Falcons at the Hage Geingob stadium in Windhoek, and coach Botha is seeking to take full advantage of them playing in front of the home crowd. 

“I think last weekend’s loss served as a good lesson for us as a team and many of the boys also learned some individual lessons. We now know that if you lose your momentum, it can cost you the entire game and I think it’s a bad thing. We have now learned that it’s important to capitalise on the opportunity that you get because, otherwise, you will end up paying,” he said

Saturday’s clash, Botha said, will be a great opportunity for the team to redeem themselves, as they will be playing in front of the home crowd and that comes with extra pressure and responsibilities. 

He added that they have worked hard to rectify the mistakes of last weekend and going into the match against the Falcons, he expects a much-improved performance from his boys.

“We are playing against a tough Falcons team and I think this will be a great opportunity for us to redeem ourselves and make the home crowd happy. This competition is good for the players, as they get to play week in and week out. The exposure for them is also great. We have a few players that are injured and getting some medical attention, and we are hoping to have them back before the weekend,” he added.

There are 10 teams competing in this year’s Mzansi Challenge, which commenced last week and runs until 17 June. The teams are the Windhoek Draught Welwitschias, Leopards, Falcons, Boland Kavaliers, Eastern Province, Border Bulldogs, SWD Eagles [Currie Cup First Division]; Diables (Spain), Simbas (Kenya), and Goshawks (Zimbabwe).

- mkambukwe@nepc.com.na