Namibia national rugby union team


































Namibia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Welwitschias
EmblemAfrican fish eagle
UnionNamibia Rugby Union
Head coachPhil Davies
CaptainRenaldo Bothma
Most caps

Eugene Jantjies (61)
Top scorer
Theuns Kotzé (344)
Top try scorer
Gerhard Mans (27)
Home stadiumHage Geingob Rugby Stadium
















First colours














Second colours


World Rugby ranking
Current24 (as of 21 May 2018)
Highest18 (2017)
Lowest29 (2006)
First international

South West Africa 0–9 British Lions
(Windhoek, Namibia; 5 July 1955)
Biggest win

Namibia 118–0 Tunisia
(Windhoek, Namibia; 23 June 2018)
Biggest defeat

Australia 142–0 Namibia
(Adelaide, Australia; 25 October 2003)
World Cup
Appearances5 (First in 1999)
Best resultPool stage, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015
Websitewww.nru.com.na

The Namibia national rugby union team, nicknamed the Welwitschias or Biltongboere, are a tier-two nation in the World Rugby tier system, and have participated in five Rugby World Cup competitions 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 annually 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. As of 28 May 2018 they are ranked 24th in the world.[1]




Contents





  • 1 History

    • 1.1 1990s


    • 1.2 2000–present



  • 2 World Cup Record


  • 3 Record


  • 4 Current squad


  • 5 Individual all-time records

    • 5.1 Most caps


    • 5.2 Most tries


    • 5.3 Most points


    • 5.4 Most points in a match


    • 5.5 Most tries in a match


    • 5.6 Most matches as captain



  • 6 See also


  • 7 Notes


  • 8 External links




History




1990s


Rugby union has been played in Namibia since 1916 when it was introduced by soldiers from South Africa who had invaded the German-run colony.


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 1988 season, where they finished third.


The Namibia Rugby Union was formed in March 1990, and it joined the International Rugby Board in the same month. Independence came too late for Namibia to qualify for the 1991 Rugby World Cup. 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. One of Namibia's players, Andre Stoop was signed by English champion rugby league club, Wigan.


During the international seasons Namibia played six games; the first of which was a 55–23 win over Zimbabwe. Following another victory over Zimbabwe, in 1993 Namibia played Wales in Windhoek, losing 23–38. Namibia completed big victories over the Arabian Gulf rugby team, 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 team's participation was put in doubt when the Namibian government's Sports Commission barred the team from participating in a South African competition it had been using as preparation, and threatened to stop the team from taking part in the World Cup. This followed criticisms from non-white rugby clubs that the Namibian Rugby Union displayed racist attitudes.[2] Ultimately, however, the team were allowed to take part.


The 1999 World Cup marked their debut at the tournament and since then they have been Africa's second representative alongside South Africa. 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.



2000–present


However, with a small player base, and lacking frequent or strong competition, the team has deteriorated in recent years. Their record in the World Cups has been poor as they have not yet 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 African Great Lakes nation, and another to Tunisia. Following the Kenya loss, the Namibian squad slumped to 28th in the IRB rankings. However, after defeating Tunisia at home, the team was effectively through to two deciding matches against Morocco, to determine which of the two African nations would make it to France in 2007. Namibia convincingly won both legs, qualifying for the World Cup.


As the lowest ranked team at the start of the 2007 World Cup, Namibia was given no chance in its opening game of against Ireland. However, the Namibian squad frustrated Ireland, then the 5th ranked team in the world, and scored two tries for its narrowest World Cup loss of 17–32. They were convincingly beaten in their games with Argentina (63–3) and France (87–10). And, in the game in which they were seen as having the best chance to win, they suffered a disappointing 30–0 loss to Georgia, to end the tournament winless.


The African side was able to win the IRB Nations Cup in 2010.


Namibia achieved their fourth World Cup qualification in a row after defeating Côte d'Ivoire in 2011. They were drawn into Pool D, with South Africa, Wales, Fiji and Samoa. Their first match in the Rugby World Cup, held in New Zealand (at the Rotorua International Stadium) resulted in a defeat by Fiji by 45–29. Their second match in this tournament was a 49–12 loss to Samoa but the third was an 87–0 loss to South Africa. In their final pool game, Wales proved to be too strong, as Namibia conceded 12 tries in an 81–7 defeat. Theuns Kotzé provided his side's one consolation, as his conversion of a Heinz Koll try made him Namibia's all-time highest Rugby World Cup points scorer.


The Welwitschias played the 2015 Vodacom Cup, collecting six defeats and one win against the Limpopo Blue Bulls. Namibia qualified for their fourth Rugby World Cup in 2015. They were placed in Pool C with New Zealand, Georgia, Tonga and Argentina.



World Cup Record






























































































































World Cup record


World Cup Qualification record
Year
Round

P

W

D

L

F

A

P

W

D

L

F

A

AustraliaNew Zealand 1987
Not invited
Not invited

United KingdomRepublic of IrelandFrance 1991
Did not enter
Did not enter

South Africa 1995
Did not qualify6411218104

Wales 1999
Pool Stage300342186540112778

Australia 2003
Pool Stage400428310430119773

France 2007
Pool Stage400430212640219296

New Zealand 2011
Pool Stage400444266431011558

England 2015
Pool Stage4004701747502289159

Japan 2019
Qualified5500347278

Total

5/8

19

0

0

19

214

1148

37

28

2

7

1138

981


Record































































































































Men's World Rugby Rankings


Top 30 rankings as of 24 December 2018[3]
RankChange*TeamPoints
1
Steady
 New Zealand

092.54
2
Steady
 Ireland

091.17
3
Steady
 Wales

087.24
4
Steady
 England

086.22
5
Steady
 South Africa

084.58
6
Steady
 Australia

082.40
7
Steady
 Scotland

081.84
8
Steady
 Fiji

077.95
9
Steady
 France

077.33
10
Steady
 Argentina

077.05
11
Steady
 Japan

075.24
12
Steady
 United States

073.66
13
Steady
 Georgia

073.42
14
Steady
 Tonga

073.02
15
Steady
 Italy

072.75
16
Steady
 Samoa

068.78
17
Steady
 Uruguay

066.82
18
Steady
 Romania

065.45
19
Steady
 Russia

065.20
20
Steady
 Canada

062.95
21
Steady
 Spain

062.24
22
Steady
 Namibia

060.34
23
Steady
 Netherlands

058.45
24
Steady
 Hong Kong

058.11
25
Steady
 Belgium

058.09
26
Steady
 Germany

057.83
27
Steady
 Portugal

057.08
28
Steady
 Brazil

056.81
29
Steady
 Chile

054.36
30
Steady
 South Korea

053.59

*Change from the previous week

Namibia's historical rankings

Namibia IRB World Rankings.png

Source: World Rugby - Graph updated to 26 November 2018[3]

Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by a Namibia national XV at test level up until 16 November 2018.[4]






































































































































































































































































































































Opponent
Played
Won
Lost
Drawn
Win %
For
Aga
Diff

 Arabian Gulf
1100100.00%6420+44

 Argentina
30300.00%36194-158

Argentina Argentina Jaguars
10100.00%1347-34

 Australia
10100.00%0142-142

 Canada
20200.00%2489-65

 Fiji
20200.00%43116-73

 France
20200.00%23134-111

 France XV
20200.00%3649-13

 Georgia
514020.00%73112-39

 Germany
2200100.00%13733+104

 Hong Kong
1100100.00%2212+10

 Ireland
422050.00%65117-52

 Italy
321066.67%7475-1

 Ivory Coast
421150.00%10150+51

 Kenya
1192081.82%544201+343

 Madagascar
431075.00%31084+226

 Morocco
852162.50%196144+52

 New Zealand
10100.00%1458-44

 Portugal
752071.43%229125+104

 Romania
615016.67%66158-92

 Russia
624033.33%168136+32

 Samoa
20200.00%2589-64

 Scotland A
11000.00%2320+3

 Senegal
4400100.00%16340+123

 South Africa
20200.00%13192-179

 Spain
624033.33%143144-1

 Tonga
20200.00%3555-20

 Tunisia
1183072.73%368159+209

 Uganda
541080.00%24494+150

 Uruguay
30300.00%82114-32

 Wales
40400.00%69171-102

 West Germany
1100100.00%547+47

 Zambia
2200100.00%13220+112

 Zimbabwe
32293090.63%1198665+533
Total1518762257.62%47873866+921




Current squad


Namibia's 28-man squad for the 2018 European tour:[5]



  • Head Coach: Wales Phil Davies


  • Caps Updated: 20 November 2018




















































































































































Player
Position
Date of Birth (Age)
Caps
Club/province

Obert Nortjé

Hooker

(1997-04-17) 17 April 1997 (age 21)
12
Namibia Welwitschias

Niël van Vuuren

Hooker

(1991-05-31) 31 May 1991 (age 27)
5
Namibia Welwitschias

AJ de Klerk

Prop

(1987-12-09) 9 December 1987 (age 31)
25
Namibia Welwitschias

André Rademeyer

Prop

(1998-06-24) 24 June 1998 (age 20)
2
South Africa Western Province

Des Sethie

Prop

(1992-12-09) 9 December 1992 (age 26)
9
Namibia Welwitschias

Jason Benade

Prop

(1995-04-16) 16 April 1995 (age 23)
1
Namibia Welwitschias

Casper Viviers

Prop

(1988-06-01) 1 June 1988 (age 30)
36
Namibia Welwitschias

Ruan Ludick

Lock

(1994-09-07) 7 September 1994 (age 24)
17
Namibia Welwitschias

Adriaan Ludick

Lock

(1998-07-22) 22 July 1998 (age 20)
2
Namibia Welwitschias

Tjiuee Uanivi

Lock

(1990-12-31) 31 December 1990 (age 27)
27

England London Scottish

Renaldo Bothma

Loose forward

(1989-09-18) 18 September 1989 (age 29)
17
England Harlequins

Thomasau Forbes

Loose forward

(1988-10-12) 12 October 1988 (age 30)
15
Namibia Welwitschias

Prince ǃGaoseb

Loose forward

(1998-07-07) 7 July 1998 (age 20)
1
South Africa Blue Bulls

Rohan Kitshoff

Loose forward

(1985-09-13) 13 September 1985 (age 33)
43
Namibia Welwitschias

Max Katjijeko

Loose forward

(1995-04-08) 8 April 1995 (age 23)
10
Namibia Welwitschias

Damian Stevens

Scrum-half

(1995-06-02) 2 June 1995 (age 23)
22
South Africa Boland Cavaliers

Wihan von Wielligh

Scrum-half

(1997-07-26) 26 July 1997 (age 21)
1

South Africa NWU Pukke

Cliven Loubser

Fly-half

(1997-02-24) 24 February 1997 (age 21)
12

South Africa UP Tuks

PW Steenkamp

Fly-half

(1997-12-11) 11 December 1997 (age 21)
6
Namibia Welwitschias

Darryl de la Harpe

Centre

(1986-10-02) 2 October 1986 (age 32)
46
Namibia Welwitschias

JC Greyling

Centre

(1991-06-21) 21 June 1991 (age 27)
29
Namibia Welwitschias

Henrique Olivier

Centre

(1997-07-03) 3 July 1997 (age 21)
1
South Africa Eastern Province Elephants

Janry du Toit

Wing

(1996-08-26) 26 August 1996 (age 22)
2
Namibia Welwitschias

Justin Newman

Wing

(1995-02-17) 17 February 1995 (age 23)
12
South Africa Leopards

Chad Plato

Wing

(1998-04-21) 21 April 1998 (age 20)
1

Namibia Kudus

Johann Tromp

Wing

(1990-12-23) 23 December 1990 (age 28)
39
Namibia Welwitschias

Chrysander Botha

Fullback

(1988-07-13) 13 July 1988 (age 30)
55
Namibia Welwitschias

TC Kisting

Fullback

(1994-01-13) 13 January 1994 (age 24)
6
Namibia Welwitschias


Individual all-time records



Most caps

















































































































































































#
Player
Pos
Span
Mat
Start
Sub
Pts
Tries
Conv
Pens
Drop
Won
Lost
Draw
Win %
1.Eugene JantjiesScrum-half2006–present66471977415813530153.78
2.Chrysander BothaFullback2008–present5654221528151503520163.39
3.Tinus du PlessisFlanker2006–2016534494590002824153.77
4.Johnny RedelinghuysProp2006–20155032182550002326147.00
PJ van LillFlanker2006–present5033173570002623153.00
6.Darryl de la HarpeCentre2010–present473894590002522053.19
7.Rohan KitshoffFlanker2010–present443014110220002420054.54
8.Theuns KotzéFly-half2011–present4035543061105552119052.50
9.Johann TrompCentre2012-present4031995190002416060.00
10.Jacques BurgerFlanker2004–2015383713570001918151.31

Last updated: 24 November 2018 [6]



Most tries













































































































































#
Player
Pos
Span
Mat
Start
Sub
Pts
Tries
Conv
Pens
Drop
1.Chrysander BothaFullback2008–present565422152815150
2.Gerhard MansWing1990–19942726111426000
3.Rohan KitshoffFlanker2010–present44301411022000
Eden MeyerWing1991–19962120110222000
5.JC GreylingCentre2014–present302379519000
Johann TrompCentre2012–present403199519000
7.Melrick AfrikaWing2003–2007241956212100
8.Du Preez GroblerCentre2001–2008262245010000
David PhilanderCentre2008–present302375010000
Corné PowellCentre2001–2007272525010000
Riaan van WykWing2002–2004101005010000

Last updated: 24 November 2018 [7]



Most points

















































































































































#
Player
Pos
Span
Mat
Start
Sub
Pts
Tries
Conv
Pens
Drop
1.Theuns KotzéFly-half2011–present403554306110555
2.Jaco CoetzeeFly-half1990-199528271335681453
3.Chrysander BothaFullback2008–present565422152815150
4.Mot SchreuderFly-half2002-200719172158442180
5.Cliven LoubserFly-half2017-present13112144447100
6.Rudie van VuurenFly-half1997-200315105120327170
7.Gerhard MansWing1990-19942726111426000
8.Rohan KitshoffFlanker2010-present44301411022000
9.Eden MeyerWing1991-19962120110222000
10.JC GreylingCentre2014–present302379519000
Johann TrompCentre2012–present403199519000

Last updated: Portugal vs Namibia, 24 November 2018. Statistics include officially capped matches only.



Most points in a match























































































































#
Player
Pos
Pts
Tries
Conv
Pens
Drop
Opposition
Venue
Date
1.Justinus van der WesthuizenFly-half333900
 Zambia

Namibia Windhoek
26/05/2007
2.Jaco CoetzeeFly-half303610
 Kenya

Kenya Nairobi
07/07/1993
3.Chrysander BothaFullback292530
 Ivory Coast

Namibia Windhoek
27/06/2009
4.Moolman OlivierFly-half2611100
 Portugal

Namibia Windhoek
21/04/1990
Cliven LoubserFly-half262800
 Morocco

Morocco Casablanca
30/06/2018
6.Riaan van WykWing255000
 Madagascar

Namibia Windhoek
15/06/2002
Theuns KotzéFly-half251440
 Russia

Namibia Windhoek
18/07/2015
8.Gerhard MansWing246000
 Portugal

Namibia Windhoek
21/04/1990
Mot SchreuderFly-half2401200
 Kenya

Namibia Windhoek
27/05/2006
Theuns KotzéFly-half2401200
 Madagascar

Namibia Windhoek
06/07/2014

Last updated: Portugal vs Namibia, 24 November 2018. Statistics include officially capped matches only.



Most tries in a match


































































































#
Player
Pos
Pts
Tries
Conv
Pens
Drop
Opposition
Venue
Date
1.Gerhard MansWing246000
 Portugal

Namibia Windhoek
21/04/1990
2.Riaan van WykWing255000
 Madagascar

Namibia Windhoek
15/06/2002
3.Eden MeyerWing204000
 Zimbabwe

Namibia Windhoek
16/05/1992
Melrick AfrikaWing204000
 Kenya

Kenya Nairobi
16/08/2003
Renaldo BothmaNumber 8204000
 Madagascar

Kenya Nairobi
06/07/2014
Rohan KitshoffFlanker204000
 Senegal

Namibia Windhoek
08/07/2017
JC GreylingCentre204000
 Tunisia

Namibia Windhoek
23/06/2018
Lesley KlimWing204000
 Tunisia

Namibia Windhoek
23/06/2018
9.15 players on 3 tries

Last updated: Portugal vs Namibia, 24 November 2018. Statistics include officially capped matches only.



Most matches as captain
















































































































#
Player
Pos
Span
Mat
Won
Lost
Draw
%
Pts
Tries
Conv
Pens
Drop
1.Gerhard MansWing1990-199426205178.8411426000
2.Jacques BurgerFlanker2007-201518810044.44255000
3.Kees LensingProp2006-20091366150.0000000
Corné PowellCentre2002-20071394069.23255000
5.Rohan KitshoffFlanker2014-present1284066.667515000
6.Quinn HoughFlanker1997-19991165054.54255000
PJ van LillFlanker2012–20151174063.63102000

Last updated: Portugal vs Namibia, 24 November 2018. Statistics include officially capped matches only.



See also


  • Namibia Rugby Union

  • Rugby union in Namibia


Notes




  1. ^ Rugby World Rankings


  2. ^ Chris Hewett (29 April 1999). "Rugby Union: England bucks the global growth trend". The Independent..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em


  3. ^ ab "Men's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 19 November 2018.


  4. ^ Namibia rugby statistics


  5. ^ "National squad selected for European tour". The Namibian. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.


  6. ^ "Rugby Union - ESPN Scrum - Statsguru - Test matches - Player records". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 17 November 2017.


  7. ^ "Rugby Union - ESPN Scrum - Statsguru - Test matches - Player records". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 17 November 2017.



External links


  • Namibianrugby.com

  • A place to meet and chat about namibian rugby.

  • Namibian rugby union news from Planet Rugby

  • Namibia World Cup 2007 Preview (in Portuguese)

  • Namibia World Cup 2007 Preview & follow-up (in French)











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