Otniel Hembapu
Windhoek-Namibia’s second tier rugby side, the Windhoek Draught Welwitschias, will tomorrow return to action when they lock horns with visiting South African outfit Hino Valke at the Hage Geingob Stadium in Windhoek (16:00) for their opening match of the 2018 SuperSport Rugby Challenge.
The Windhoek Draught Welwitschias are drawn in the Northern group of the competition and will face the likes of Blue Bulls, Golden Lions and Pumas and will kick-start their campaign with the clash against Valke this weekend on home soil.
Namibia endured a tough ride during last year’s edition, with saw the Welwitschias winning only one match from their eight outings in total and will thus this year be expected to deliver a much improved performance while handing various youngsters within the team an opportunity to gain much-needed exposure.
The SuperSport Rugby Challenge is the secondary domestic rugby union competition in South Africa and the long-term successor of the Vodacom Cup competition. The competition is organised by the South African Rugby Union (SARU) and features all fourteen South African provincial unions plus Namibian side the Welwitschias.
For this year, the format of the tournament will again see five teams battle it out in each of the North, South and Central pools, with all 14 unions and Namibia taking part in what promises to be another exciting opportunity for new prospects to emerge and more fans to get the opportunity to see their heroes in action on their doorstep.
Namibia Breweries Ltd and First National Bank Namibia are the sponsors of the Windhoek Draught Welwitschias. Entrance fee to tomorrow’s match is N$50 for adults and N$10 for children and tickets are available at the gates.
Windhoek Draught Welwitschias squad:
Desiderius Sethie, Obert Nortje, AJ de Klerk, Mahepisa Tjeriko, Ruan Ludick, Rohan Kitshoff (captain), Max Katjijeko, Leneve Damens, Eugene Jantjies, Helarius Kisting, Janray du Toit, Darryl de la Harpe, JC Greyling, Gino Wilson, Chrysander Botha, Gerhard Lötter, Hans Breedt, Herman Grobler, Denzil van Wyk, Adriaan Booysen, PW Steenkamp, Macho Prinsloo, David Philander and Roderique Victor.