Easy access at the tip of your fingers, subscribe to our daily ePaper version of our New Era Newspaper.
Home / Welwitschias ready for hard-tackling Kenyans
Welwitschias ready for hard-tackling Kenyans
2015-08-07Staff Report 2 Windhoek As far as national senior rugby team mentor Phil Davies is concerned the Welwitschias have over the past few months developed a cutting-edge style of play that enables them to take on any credible opponent. Given the conditioning level and overall depth of the team, Davies is convinced his charges have what it takes to compete against any opponent at next month’s World Cup, with the initial test of character starting this weekend when they lock horns with Kenya in their Windhoek Draught Africa Cup 1A clash at the Hage Geingob Stadium on Saturday. With the Welwitschias taking on the Kenyans in their 8th meeting (of which Namibia won six and Kenya only two), Davies promised a very physical game where speed and great ball control will be the aim of the game. “Training has gone very well and I have to say I’m pleased with the players’ overall fitness levels. The high performance centre has really been helpful in terms of getting the players mentally and physically ready, so going into this weekend’s match I know we will deliver the expected performance,” the Welsh national said. It will be Namibia’s first match against Kenya since they lost 29-22 in the Rugby World Cup Qualification tournament in Madagascar last year. “It’s not just for this weekend’s match or next weekend when we play Zimbabwe; we plan on working around all areas of our game so that we can be ready going to the World Cup and beyond. Our objective is to be as competitive as possible, making sure our youngsters get the necessary exposure while bonding with the seniors.” The Zimbabweans are currently leading the Africa Cup 1A log standings after victories over Tunisia and Kenya respectively. Kenya defeated Tunisia 46-15, but lost to Zimbabwe 20-28, with the Zimbabweans also beating Tunisia 19-8 in Harare. Meanwhile, in their only Africa Cup match so far this year, Namibia defeated Tunisia 22-14 on their home ground in Nabeul. 2015-08-07Staff Report 2
