Rugby

Two tries apiece by Michael Bondesio, Jovan Bowles, Gavin Williamson and Deon Scholtz saw the Leopards to a comprehensive 52-11 (half-time 26-11) victory over the Namibia Welwitschias in their Vodacom Cup match at Olen Park in Potchefstroom on Friday.

The fact of the matter is that the Leopards could have sent the Welwitschias back to Namibia with an even bigger hiding were it not for periodic handling errors due to a slippery ball caused by rain just before kick-off.

Namibia’s 2010 Vodacom Cup campaign got off to a losing start as they lost 45-26 to the Griffons in Windhoek after trailing 25-17 at halftime. Griffons’ right wing Eddie Fredericks scored three tries while flyhalf Tiaan van Wyk gave a great kicking display, scoring 17 points with the boot, as the visitors took control of the match from the start. Namibia however staged a fine comeback and at a stage were trailing by only two points before the Griffons pulled away for a comfortable win.

The Namibian Welwitschias rugby team opens its account in the 2010 Vodacom Cup competition on Saturday when they host the Griffons at the Hage Geingob National Rugby Stadium.

It will be the first time since 2002 that Namibia will compete in the Vodacom Cup competition, which serves as a feeder system for South Africa’s provincial franchises, where they can groom new players before they are exposed to South Africa’s top provincial competition, the Currie Cup.

The Namibia Rugby Union on Monday announced that it had signed a three-year partnership agreement with Puma in terms of which the global sport brand will become the team’s official technical supplier.

According to the vice president of the Namibia Rugby Union, Sarel Losper, the NRU set a series of priorities last year to ensure that Namibia’s national team could compete comfortably at international level. Amongst these priorities was the establishment of a series of smart partnerships to ensure that Namibia maintains a competitive edge.

Namibia’s 30-15 defeat to Russia in a test match on Saturday affected their world ranking adversely as they dropped down one place to 23rd in the world according to the latest International Rugby Board rankings which were released on Monday.

Namibia’s defeat saw them trade places with Spain, who moved up to 22nd in the world.

Namibia is still the second highest ranked nation in Africa on the IRB world rankings, after the continental powerhouses, South Africa, who are ranked second in the world.

Russia were too strong for Namibia in their Rugby Test match in Windhoek on Saturday afternoon, running out 30-15 victors, after leading 17-5 at the break. Russian scrumhalf Alexander Yanyushkin had a great game, scoring 15 points with the boot as well as a great try for a personal tally of 20 points, while flyhalf Yuri Kushnarev and centre Mikail Babaev each scored a try.

Namibia’s national rugby team faces a tough test when they take on Russia in a test match at the Hage Geingob Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Namibia Rugby Union organised the match to help Namibia prepare for the upcoming Vodacom Cup competition in South Africa, where Namibia will compete for the first time since 2002.

Flankers Andre Vermeulen and Thomasu Forbes, centre Darryl de le Harpe and scrumhalf Eniel Buitendach are four new additions to the Namibian rugby squad that will take on Russia in an international friendly on Saturday, January 23. The two loose forwards have come through the junior ranks and have been playing in South Africa for the past few years.

South African rugby coach John Williams achieved his target of qualifying Namibia for the 2011 Rugby World Cup when they beat Tunisia 22-10 on November 28. Williams was appointed as Namibia’s national coach in April 2008 and in the ensuing 20 months shaped a formidable team that has now qualified for the international showpiece of world rugby. In the process Namibia created history by qualifying for their fourth successive World Cup and fifth World Cup in total.

Johan Diergaardt has been appointed as the national rugby coach following the departure of John Williams. At a press conference in Windhoek on Friday, the president of the Namibia Rugby Union, Buks Bock said that Diergaardt was appointed as from 1 December to take over from outgoing coach John Williams.

Diergaardt has been assistant coach to Williams for the past two years. There was talk that the International Rugby Board would second a coach to Namibia following their qualification for the World Cup, but according to Bock, this would not be the case any more.