Rugby World Cup-bound Welwitschias will this Saturday have another golden opportunity to further patch up their fitness levels and overall preparations when they square off against visiting South African outfit Pumas at the Hage Geingob stadium in the capital.
The Welwitschias, as the country’s rugby 15 are affectionately known, will lock horns with the Pumas in the inaugural edition of the Airlink Cup, and assistant Namibian coach Chrysander Botha – who will be overseeing the team this weekend – has promised to give the visitors a good run for their money.
“Pumas are a team that prides themselves in the physicality aspect of the game and they have shown that they can compete with the best in South Africa. The demands in that aspect will be high and to limit the risk of injury, we need to limit the amount of game time for each player…We will be playing two full teams, as we currently have a large group of players, and everyone will get an opportunity to get some much-needed game time after a lengthy pre-season,” said Botha, the former Welwitschias skillful full-back.
“The selection is also aimed at building up to operate at optimal levels for 60 minutes, with impact players closing out the games. Lastly, this also provides a great opportunity for our local club players to go out, compete and develop against the Currie Cup champions.
They [the fans] will get to witness the best of South Africa and Namibian rugby going head-to-head in action.
From a coaching perspective, we are confident the warm-up matches will be an exciting and successful opportunity for our local players to claim places in the World Cup squad.”
More importantly, Botha underscored that this weekend’s Airlink Cup and the Mzanzi Rugby Challenge, slated for 25 March 2023, are all aimed at preparing Namibia for this year’s World Cup in France. In the Mzanzi Rugby Challenge, the Welwitschias will face the Border Bulldogs in South Africa.
Namibia Rugby Union president Petrie Theron also hailed the impact and significance of the Airlink Cup, saying: “The Airlink Cup trophy contest on Saturday provides great preparation opportunities for Namibia’s 2023 World Cup team”.
Later this year, Namibia will be participating in their seventh successive Rugby World Cup tournament, where they will kick off their World Cup campaign against Italy in Saint-Étienne on 9 September, before playing three-time Webb Ellis Cup winners New Zealand in Toulouse six days later.
Next up for Namibia is a match against hosts France in Marseille on 21 September. They will bring their Pool A campaign to a close against Uruguay in Lyon on 27 September.
- ohembapu@nepc.com.na