Namibians serve up another late show

Namibia’s never-say-die spirit was again in evidence as they came from behind to beat Emerging Italy 38-26.Having snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Spain in round two, it took three tries in the final quarter for the Welwitschias to overhaul the Italians and record their second bonus-point win of the competition in the space of five days.Emerging Italy had built up a 12-0 lead in the first half an hour after Paolo Pescetto kicked two penalties and converted scrumhalf Giorgio Bronzini’s try before the Welwitschias finally got their first points on the scoreboard.Hooker Gert Lotter’s try from a driven lineout, which Theuns Kotze converted, only provided temporary respite as Emerging Italy closed the half with their lead back into double figures when Federico Conforti crossed for his second try of the tournament. Namibia started the second half strongly and they closed the gap to two points when winger Wilson dotted down on 43 minutes for the first of his two tries and Kotze turned the six points into eight with the conversion.The next try went to the Italians, 22-year-old winger Andrea Bettin crossing 10 minutes after Namibia scored. Pescotto converted to make it 26-16.Namibia used their rolling maul to good effect again and when veteran Tinus du Plessis went over with just over a quarter of the match to play, and Kotze converted, they were right back in it.Shortly after replacement forward Guiseppe di Stefano was yellow-carded, fullback Johan Trump put Namibia in front for the first time with three minutes remaining, and Wilson completed the comeback with his second just before referee Damian Schneider blew for time.With two wins, Namibia finished third at the Nations Cup, a commendable performance considering they finished bottom 12 months ago.“This was an important win for the country, after the good performance in the Rugby World Cup,” said Namibia coach Phil Davies. “It is a big lift for the boys to secure two wins out of three against quality opposition. We are trying to develop our game and this win, based on a combination of flair and courage, as well as frustration, has done just that. We are moving forward as we prepare for our next tournament, the Africa Cup.” Emerging Italy blindside flanker and captain Conforti bemoaned his side’s inability to stay focused for the full 80 minutes. “We had a good tournament against very tough teams, and of course we gave 100 percent. Probably we didn’t respect our game plan during the last 10 minutes and offered the opposition opportunities to score tries.”WORLD RUGBY

Namibians serve up another late show

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Namibian Sun 2026-04-09

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Namibians serve up another late show

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Namibian Sun 2026-04-09

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