Erasmus Shalihaxwe
The national rugby team, the Welwitschias, are one win from qualifying the next Rugby Africa Cup final and book their place at the next Rugby World Cup.
Head coach and director of rugby Jacques Burger said the team is focused and ready to finish the job.
Burger spoke after Namibia beat Algeria 21–7 in the semi-finals over the weekend.
The tournament is taking place in Kampala, Uganda. Namibia will face Zimbabwe in the final on Saturday.
“The match was very tough. Big up to them. They came out and really took the game to us,” Burger said. “But I was extremely proud of what the boys did. Our boys stayed in the fight… especially towards the end. Nobody gave up and that is what we want to do in the final. We want to make teams work. If you want to score against us, then it’s going to take a lot of effort and a lot of work.”
He said the team still needs to improve to consistently compete at the international level.
“There is a lot still to grow and improve on, but we take the win, we take the semi-finals win against a good Algerian side. We will reset today, and tomorrow we will be hungry and ready to go again.”
Team captain Prince !Goaseb said the match was physically demanding, especially in the opening stages, but the team held firm.
“It was a physical game, especially the first 20 minutes.Algeria was good, but unfortunately we kept pushing through and got things right,” he said.
“I am proud of the boys for what they did and fortunately we got the win. This was really a team effort. We are now going to prepare for the next game, which is the final. We are looking forward to it. It’s going to be a good final and the boys are excited,” said !Goaseb.
