Namibia national rugby union team
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| Namibia | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Union | Namibia Rugby Union | |||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Welwitschias | |||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Johannes Venter | |||||||||||||||||
| Captain | Tinus du Plessis | |||||||||||||||||
| Top scorer | Marcel du Plessis (8 tries, 2006) | |||||||||||||||||
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| First international | ||||||||||||||||||
| Namibia 0 - 9 British and Irish Lions (5 July 1955) |
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| Largest win | ||||||||||||||||||
| Namibia 116 - 0 Madagascar (June 15, 2002) |
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| Worst defeat | ||||||||||||||||||
| Australia 142 - 0 Namibia (October 25, 2003) |
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| World Cup | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appearances | 2 (First in 1999) | |||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Bottom of pool, 1999, 2003 | |||||||||||||||||
The Namibian rugby union team, nicknamed the Welwitschias, represent Namibia at rugby union. Although they are a tier-three nation in the International Rugby Board (IRB) tier system, the team have become regular participants at the Rugby World Cup since their first appearance in 1999. They are governed by the Namibia Rugby Union.
Namibia has been playing international rugby since the early 1900s. As well as having competed at the World Cup, Namibia annully competes in the Africa Cup. Until independence, players for Namibia were also eligible to represent South Africa, with Namibian born Springboks including Jan Ellis and, more recently, Percy Montgomery.
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[edit] History
Rugby union has been played in the country since 1916 when it was introduced by migrants from South Africa. Before Namibia gained its independence in 1990, the team, as South West Africa, played in South Africa's domestic club competition, the Currie Cup. The team achieved their best result in the 1989 season, where they finished third.
The Namibia Rugby Union was only formed in March 1990, and it joined the International Rugby Board in the same month. Independence came too late for Namibia to qualify for Rugby World Cup 1991. Hardened by regular, tough competition in the Currie Cup, the first few years of Namibian rugby union were relatively successful, their highest point being 2-0 home series victories over Ireland and Italy in 1991. That year the Welwitschias won all 10 of their Tests, the others being five victories against Zimbabwe and one against Portugal in Lisbon.
During the 1992-93 international seasons Namibia played six games; the first of which was a 55-23 win over Zimbabwe. Following another victiory over Zimbabwe, in 1993 Namibia played Wales in Windhoek, losing 23-38. Namibia completed big victories over the Arabian Gulf, Kenya and Zimbabwe in the initial rounds of 1995 Rugby World Cup qualifying.
Russia toured Namibia in 1994, defeating the home team 31-12 in Windhoek. Although Namibia defeated Zimbabwe that year, the team lost to Côte d'Ivoire and drew with Morocco (all in Casablanca). In 1996 Namibia played two matches; losing 13-15 to Zimbabwe, and then defeating them by one point in a subsequent meeting. They played two games in 1997 as well, losing to Tonga and Zimbabwe.
During 1998 Namibia took part in the African tournaments for 1999 Rugby World Cup qualification. They started out in Round 3, where they finished second in the pool behind Zimbabwe on points difference (defeating Zimbabwe but losing to Tunisia). Namibia defeated Côte d'Ivoire, Morocco and Zimbabwe to qualify for the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
The 1999 World Cup marked their debut at the tournament. While they suffered heavy defeats by France, Fiji and Canada, they took pride in scoring an early try and being level with France after 20 minutes.
However with a tiny player base, and starved of frequent or strong competition, the team has deteriorated in recent years. Recent defeats to Morocco mean they are ranked below the North African side. Their record in the World Cups has been poor, and they haven't managed a win. Their record defeat, 142-0 against Australia in the 2003 tournament, led to some questioning the presence of the minor teams at the tournament.
Namibia initially struggled in the qualifiers for the 2007 tournament, suffering a shock defeat to Kenya, their first ever to the East African nation, and another to Tunisia. After the Kenya defeat they slumped to 28th in the IRB rankings. However, after defeating Tunisia at home they were effectively through to two deciding matches against Morrocco, to determine which of the two African nations would make it to France in 2007. They convincingly won both legs, qualifying for the World Cup.
[edit] World Cup record
- 1987/1991 - Did not enter
- 1995 - Did not qualify
- 1999/2003/2007 - Qualified
[edit] International results
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 11, 2006 | Morocco | Casablanca | 27-8 | RWC 2007 qualifying |
| October 28, 2006 | Morocco | Windhoek | 25-7 | RWC 2007 qualifying |
| October 8, 2006 | Tunisia | Windhoek | 23-15 | RWC 2007 qualifying |
| September 9, 2006 | Kenya | Nairobi | 26-30 | RWC 2007 qualifying |
| July 1, 2006 | Tunisia | Tunis | 7-24 | RWC 2007 qualifying |
| May 28, 2006 | Kenya | Windhoek | 84-12 | RWC 2007 qualifying |
| November 5, 2005 | Morocco | Morocco | 0-49 | CAR Top 9 |
| October 1, 2005 | Madagascar | Namibia | 56-17 | CAR Top 9 |
| November 13, 2004 | Morocco | Namibia | 39-22 | CAR Top 10 |
| September 25, 2004 | Zimbabwe | Namibia | 68-8 | CAR Top 10 |
| September 11, 2004 | Kenya | Namibia | 65-7 | CAR Top 10 |
| August 14, 2004 | Zambia | Zambia | 52-10 | CAR Top 10 |
| February 28, 2004 | Morocco | Morocco | 7 - 27 | |
| October 30, 2003 | Romania | Launceston | 7 - 37 | RWC 2003 |
| October 25, 2003 | Australia | Adelaide | 0 - 142 | RWC 2003 |
| October 19, 2003 | Ireland | Sydney | 7 - 64 | RWC 2003 |
| October 14, 2003 | Argentina | Gosford | 14 - 67 | RWC 2003 |
| August 16, 2003 | Uganda | Windhoek | 82 - 13 | |
| July 14, 2003 | Manu Samoa | Windhoek | 13 - 40 | |
| July 5, 2003 | South Africa A | Windhoek | 25 - 9 | |
| October 12, 2002 | Tunisia | Tunis | 17 - 24 | |
| September 28, 2002 | Tunisia | Windhoek | 26 - 19 | |
| July 29, 2002 | Zimbabwe | Bulawayo | 42 - 30 | |
| July 14, 2002 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 19 - 15 | |
| June 15, 2002 | Madagascar | Windhoek | 116 - 0 | |
| July 8, 2001 | Zimbabwe | Harare | 26 - 27 | |
| June 23, 2001 | Italy | Windhoek | 24 - 49 | |
| June 16, 2001 | South Africa U-23 | Johannesburg | 13 - 41 | |
| May 25, 2001 | South Africa U-23 | Windhoek | 15 - 60 | |
| September 15, 2000 | Uruguay | Montivideo | 12 - 23 | |
| August 7, 2000 | South Africa U-23 | Windhoek | 18 - 53 | |
| July 22, 2000 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 43 - 34 | |
| July 1, 2000 | Zimbabwe | Harare | 31 - 26 | |
| June 24, 2000 | South Africa U-23 | Bloemfontein | 3 - 91 | |
| October 17, 1999 | Germany | Gera | 79 - 13 | |
| October 14, 1999 | Canada | Toulouse | 11 - 72 | |
| August 10, 1999 | France | Bordeaux | 13 - 47 | |
| July 8, 1999 | Zimbabwe | Pretoria | 32 - 17 | |
| January 10, 1999 | Fiji | Beziers | 18 - 67 | |
| December 9, 1998 | Cote de'Ivorie | Casablanca | 22 - 10 | |
| September 18, 1998 | Zimbabwe | Casablanca | 39 - 14 | |
| September 16, 1998 | Morocco | Casablanca | 17 - 8 | |
| September 5, 1998 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 32 - 26 | |
| April 18, 1998 | Tunisia | Tunis | 17 - 20 | |
| January 23, 1998 | Portugal | Lisbon | 36 - 19 | |
| June 16, 1997 | Zimbabwe | Bulawayo | 26 - 32 | |
| May 24, 1997 | Tonga | Windhoek | 14 - 20 | |
| April 5, 1996 | Zimbabwe | Harare | 19 - 18 | |
| January 3, 1996 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 13 - 15 | |
| February 6, 1995 | Zimbabwe | 19 - 14 | ||
| 1/6/1995 | Zimbabwe | 30 - 25 | ||
| June 18, 1994 | Morocco | Casablanca | 16 - 16 | |
| June 16, 1994 | Cote de'Ivorie | Casablanca | 12 - 13 | |
| June 14, 1994 | Zimbabwe | Casablanca | 25 - 20 | |
| January 6, 1994 | Russia | Windhoek | 12 - 31 | |
| October 7, 1993 | Zimbabwe | Nairobi | 41 - 16 | |
| July 7, 1993 | Kenya | Nairobi | 60 - 9 | |
| May 6, 1993 | Wales | Windhoek | 23 - 38 | |
| March 7, 1993 | Persian Gulf | Nairobi | 64 - 20 | |
| August 5, 1992 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 69 - 26 | |
| May 1, 1992 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 55 - 23 | |
| September 12, 1991 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 46 - 20 | |
| August 8, 1991 | Zimbabwe | Harare | 23 - 16 | |
| July 27, 1991 | Ireland | Windhoek | 26 - 15 | |
| July 20, 1991 | Ireland | Windhoek | 15 - 6 | |
| July 8, 1991 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 53 - 9 | |
| July 1, 1991 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 34 - 15 | |
| June 22, 1991 | Italy | Windhoek | 33 - 19 | |
| June 15, 1991 | Italy | Windhoek | 17 - 7 | |
| May 24, 1991 | Portugal | Lisbon | 34 - 12 | |
| January 8, 1991 | Zimbabwe | Harare | 22 - 19 | |
| November 13, 1990 | France XV | Arras | 0 - 33 | |
| September 6, 1990 | Wales | Windhoek | 30 - 34 | |
| June 30, 1990 | France XV | Windhoek | 20 - 25 | |
| June 23, 1990 | France XV | Windhoek | 15 - 24 | |
| June 2, 1990 | Wales | Windhoek | 9 - 18 | |
| April 20, 1990 | Portugal | Windhoek | 88 - 18 | |
| January 12, 1989 | Zimbabwe | Harare | 33 - 18 |
[edit] Record against other nations
| Team | Won | Drawn | Lost |
| Persian Gulf | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Argentina | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Australia | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Canada | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Cote de'Ivorie | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Fiji | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| France | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| France XV | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Germany | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ireland | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Italy | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Kenya | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Madagascar | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Morocco | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Portugal | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Romania | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Russia | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Samoa | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| South Africa A | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| South Africa U23 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Tonga | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tunisia | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Uganda | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Uruguay | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Wales | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Zambia | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Zimbabwe | 21 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | 44 | 1 | 33 |
