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Ongos series to kickstart revival of sevens code

Sevens rugby
Otis Daniels
The southern round of the Ongos Valley Sevens Rugby Series regional competition takes place in Keetmanshoop on Saturday.

Keetmanshoop Rams is hosting the opening round of the series of three tournaments. The hosts will be joined by the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), Ocean Swallows from Lüderitz and Oranjemund with the official opening set for 11:30.

A program of 14 matches will follow, inclusive of the two semi-finals (15:10 - 15:30), the third-place playoff (16:10) and the final (16:30).

Abed Erastus, the PRO of Ongos Valley Development, urged fans to pitch in numbers and called on the players to make the tournament a memorable occasion. “Go out and express yourselves. Play hard running rugby and enjoy your time on the pitch.”

The series will then move on to Swakopmund on 28 September, with matches to be hosted by Dolphin Rugby Club.

A women’s tournament will also form part of the activities on Friday 4 October, with the men’s series concluding at Hage Geingob Stadium in Windhoek on 5 October.

“Gone are the days when everything only happened in central Namibia,” said John Heynes, the CEO of the Namibia Rugby Union (NRU).

“We are now taking rugby to other regions and will continue to do that to the best of our ability. The agreement with Ongos is in place for the next five years and the sponsorship amount for this period is just shy of N$5 million. It covers the tournament arrangement, including the competition's overall prize pot amounting to N$100 000 and logistics.”

According to Heynes, the Ongos Valley Sevens Rugby Series is of huge importance for the union to revive this format of the game. “It will enhance our rugby structures overall. Most of the players that play as utility backs for the top rugby playing nations, have also played high-level sevens rugby.”

Heyns emphasised that opportunities in the sevens code are limited and he urged clubs and players to embrace the Ongos series.

"Clubs should see this as a platform to propel their players to participate at national level. It allows every player in Namibia to showcase his or her talent and come into contention for national team selection, because we will be back on the national sevens scene in 2025. The Ongos Valley series is thus a crucial component of sevens rugby in Namibia. Let us make the tournament a success.”



Uphill African challenge

One of the last times the Namibian national team was in action, was at the 2019 Rugby Africa Men’s Sevens tournament in Johannesburg.

The team competed to qualify directly for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, with David Philander as the head coach, finishing the tournament in a relatively solid fifth place.

The 2019 team consisted of Cameron Langenhoven (captain), Tuna Amutenya, Elmarco Beukes, Adriaan Booysen, Peter Diergaardt, Max Katjijeko, Gerswin Mouton, Aurelio Plato, Chad Plato, Carlton Stevens, Shareave Titus, Peter-John Walters.

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Namibian Sun 2024-10-08

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Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 621.07/OZ DOWN -0.0083 | Copper US$ 4.45/lb DOWN -0.0196 | Zinc US$ 3 096.00/T UP 0.12% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 77.90/BBP DOWN -0.0457 | Platinum US$ 953.67/OZ DOWN -0.0177 Sport results: Premier League: Brighton 3 vs 2 Tottenham Hotspur | Chelsea 1 vs 1 Nottingham Forest | Aston Villa 0 vs 0 Manchester United | Everton 0 vs 0 Newcastle | West Ham 4 vs 1 Ipswich Town | Manchester City 3 vs 2 Fulham | Leicester City 1 vs 0 Bournemouth | Brentford 5 vs 3 Wolves | Arsenal 3 vs 1 Southampton | Crystal Palace 0 vs 1 Liverpool LaLiga: Real Sociedad 1 vs 1 Atletico Madrid | Sevilla 1 vs 0 Real Betis | Deportivo Alaves 0 vs 3 Barcelona | Girona 2 vs 1 Athletic Club | Real Madrid 2 vs 0 Villarreal | Real Valladolid 1 vs 2 Rayo Vallecano | Las Palmas 0 vs 1 Celta Vigo | Getafe 1 vs 1 Osasuna | Espanyol 2 vs 1 Mallorca SerieA: Fiorentina 2 vs 1 AC Milan | Monza 1 vs 1 AS Roma | SS Lazio 2 vs 1 Empoli | Bologna 0 vs 0 Parma | Juventus 1 vs 1 Cagliari | Inter Milan 3 vs 2 Torino | Atalanta 5 vs 1 Genoa | Udinese 1 vs 0 Lecce European Championships Qualifying: Bristol City 1 vs 1 Cardiff City | West Bromwich Albion 0 vs 0 Millwall FC | Watford 2 vs 1 Middlesbrough | Swansea City 0 vs 0 Stoke City | Sheffield United 2 vs 0 Luton Town | Plymouth Argyle 2 vs 1 Blackburn Rovers | Derby County 2 vs 0 Queens Park Rangers | Coventry City 1 vs 2 Sheffield Wednesday | Portsmouth 1 vs 1 Oxford United | Norwich City 4 vs 0 Hull City | Burnley 0 vs 0 Preston North End English Championship: Bristol City 1 vs 1 Cardiff City | West Bromwich Albion 0 vs 0 Millwall FC | Watford 2 vs 1 Middlesbrough | Swansea City 0 vs 0 Stoke City | Sheffield United 2 vs 0 Luton Town | Plymouth Argyle 2 vs 1 Blackburn Rovers | Derby County 2 vs 0 Queens Park Rangers | Coventry City 1 vs 2 Sheffield Wednesday | Portsmouth 1 vs 1 Oxford United | Norwich City 4 vs 0 Hull City | Burnley 0 vs 0 Preston North End Weather: Katima Mulilo: 18° | 36° Rundu: 17° | 38° Eenhana: 19° | 38° Oshakati: 20° | 37° Ruacana: 19° | 37° Tsumeb: 21° | 35° Otjiwarongo: 17° | 34° Omaruru: 18° | 34° Windhoek: 17° | 31° Gobabis: 20° | 33° Henties Bay: 13° | 19° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 11:38, High tide: 06:00, Low Tide: 00:09, High tide: 18:07 Swakopmund: 13° | 15° Wind speed: 24km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:36, High tide: 05:58, Low Tide: 00:07, High tide: 18:05 Walvis Bay: 13° | 20° Wind speed: 29km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:36, High tide: 05:57, Low Tide: 00:07, High tide: 18:04 Rehoboth: 17° | 33° Mariental: 21° | 35° Keetmanshoop: 21° | 36° Aranos: 21° | 35° Lüderitz: 10° | 20° Ariamsvlei: 20° | 37° Oranjemund: 13° | 22° Luanda: 23° | 24° Gaborone: 18° | 30° Lubumbashi: 17° | 35° Mbabane: 13° | 28° Maseru: 13° | 27° Antananarivo: 13° | 26° Lilongwe: 19° | 32° Maputo: 18° | 30° Windhoek: 17° | 31° Cape Town: 16° | 22° Durban: 16° | 24° Johannesburg: 16° | 27° Dar es Salaam: 24° | 31° Lusaka: 18° | 32° Harare: 16° | 29° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23 | EUR to NAD 19.3 | CNY to NAD 2.49 | USD to NAD 17.59 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.65 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.17 | RUB to NAD 0.18 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 132.34 | USD to AOA 905 | USD to BWP 13.24 | USD to EGP 48.55 | USD to KES 128.5 | USD to NGN 1628.3 | USD to ZAR 17.59 | USD to ZMW 26.45 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1839.33 Down -1.67% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14019.63 Down -0.97% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30851.63 Down -3.04% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9661.12 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 621.07/OZ DOWN -0.0083 | Copper US$ 4.45/lb DOWN -0.0196 | Zinc US$ 3 096.00/T UP 0.12% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 77.90/BBP DOWN -0.0457 | Platinum US$ 953.67/OZ DOWN -0.0177