Welwitschias’ first hurdle against Italy
• Three days to go
Not long to go until the best teams in the world battle it out for supremacy in the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
As Namibia tighten their laces for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, they face a challenging task in Pool A.
The Welwitschias of Namibia are the underdogs in this pool, but despite being given slim chances by bookmakers, the team will be determined to showcase their progress against the strongest teams in the world.
Namibia, who has an impressive record of qualifying for the World Cup seven times consecutively, will face Italy at 13:00 on Saturday in Saint-Etienne.
Their other Pool A fixtures are against New Zealand on 15 September at 09:00, hosts France on 21 September at 09:00 and Uruguay on 27 September at 17:45.
Italy enters the tournament in 13th place in the World Rugby rankings, New Zealand fourth, Uruguay 17th and France third, whereas Namibia is currently ranked 21st, which is the second-lowest of any team in the tournament, only ahead of Chile, who the Namibians beat 28-26 in Valparaiso last month.
History suggests the Italians’ rugby pedigree should carry them through once again. While the odds may be heavily against Namibia, the underdogs will be highly motivated to prove themselves on the global stage.
Huge effort
According to veteran sports journalist Andrew Poolman, a lot will need to go right for the Welwitschias to record an upset against Italy.
“You could say Italian rugby is in a heavier weight class than us, so it will require a huge effort and complete accuracy in every aspect if we are to put ourselves in a position to challenge for the result we all dream of.”
Robbie Dickson, head coach of Namibia’s newly crowned champion club Trustco United, said the best approach is to be realistic about what lies ahead.
He watched Italy comfortably beating Japan (ranked 14th), which indicates the difficulty of the task, he said.
However, Dickson added that rugby can be unpredictable and if the Welwitschias have their heads on right and follow the plan, anything can happen.
He further emphasised that the more professional nature of Italian rugby and that team's continued exposure in the Six Nations should give them the edge.
“Italy are a good side. They are higher up in the ranks, so it will be a very tough match. I know Allister Coetzee [Namibia's head coach] said he wants to win two matches in the tournament, but whatever the result, I believe we will use the Italy match as a stepping stone for when we meet Uruguay.
“Uruguay will be the match to target and I think we can win that one. But I also hope that Allister has a couple of surprises up his sleeve for Italy,” Dickson said.
Confidence
FNB Wanderers coach Dirk Human echoed his sentiments, saying Italy has a highly experienced team which competes at a much higher level.
He however added that Namibia has several experienced players who ply their trade overseas and they can contribute massively to the team’s confidence.
Human reckons the first 30 to 40 minutes will be crucial for the Namibian hopes, as Italy will come out very strong. The final quarter will determine the eventual difference, in his view.
Coetzee, who was the Springboks coach until 2018, expressed Namibia’s ambitious goal of winning two games at the tournament, which would mean automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup.
The tour to South America last month was important in achieving this goal, he said.
Namibia’s record against Italy
In June 1991, Italy toured the newly independent Namibia and were famously beaten in both test matches in Windhoek. The Namibians, coached by Henning Snyman and captained by Gerhard Mans at the time, convincingly beat Italy 17-7 and 33-19.
Ten years later, on 23 June 2001, Namibia once again defeated Italy 49-24. The side was at that time coached by Henry Pretorius and captained by Wolfie Duvenhage.
The sides met again at the 2019 World Cup in Japan, with Italy achieving a 47-22 win against Phil Davies’ side, with Tjiuee Uanivi as the captain.
Namibia scored three tries – by left wing JC Greyling, scrum-half Damian Stevens and wing Chad Plato.
In non-test appearances, Namibia twice beat Emerging Italy in consecutive World Rugby Nations Cup tournaments – both times with Renaldo Bothma as captain and under Davies as head coach.
In 2016 in Bucharest, the Namibians won 38-26, and when the tournament was held in Montevideo the next year, Namibia won by an identical score (38-26).
On 25 June last year, Coetzee’s side lost to Italy A 43-21in a friendly in Cape Town as a warm-up to Namibia’s successful World Cup qualifying tournament held in France.
Namibia Rugby World Cup 2023 squad
Forwards
Jason Benade, Adriaan Booysen, Aranos Coetzee, Wian Conradie
Tiaan de Klerk, Prince Gaoseb, Richard Hardwick, Max Katjijeko, Adriaan Ludick, Johan Retief, Desiderius Sethie, Haitembu Shikufa, Mahepisa Tjeriko, Tjiuee Uanivi, Louis van der Westhuizen, Torsten van Jaarsveld, PJ van Lill, Casper Viviers, Obert Nortje.
Backs
Oela Blaauw, Danco Burger, Johan Deysel, JC Greyling, Cliven Loubser, Le Roux Malan, Gerswin Mouton, Alcino Izaacs, Divan Rossouw, Damian Stevens, Tiaan Swanepoel, Jacques Theron and Andre van der Berg.
Plato, who scored a try against Italy in their 2019 World Cup opener in Japan, aggravated a hamstring injury in the warm-up friendly against the Vodacom Bulls two weekends ago and has been withdrawn from the announced squad.
The Namibia Rugby Union is awaiting approval from World Rugby before announcing his replacement.
The Welwitschias of Namibia are the underdogs in this pool, but despite being given slim chances by bookmakers, the team will be determined to showcase their progress against the strongest teams in the world.
Namibia, who has an impressive record of qualifying for the World Cup seven times consecutively, will face Italy at 13:00 on Saturday in Saint-Etienne.
Their other Pool A fixtures are against New Zealand on 15 September at 09:00, hosts France on 21 September at 09:00 and Uruguay on 27 September at 17:45.
Italy enters the tournament in 13th place in the World Rugby rankings, New Zealand fourth, Uruguay 17th and France third, whereas Namibia is currently ranked 21st, which is the second-lowest of any team in the tournament, only ahead of Chile, who the Namibians beat 28-26 in Valparaiso last month.
History suggests the Italians’ rugby pedigree should carry them through once again. While the odds may be heavily against Namibia, the underdogs will be highly motivated to prove themselves on the global stage.
Huge effort
According to veteran sports journalist Andrew Poolman, a lot will need to go right for the Welwitschias to record an upset against Italy.
“You could say Italian rugby is in a heavier weight class than us, so it will require a huge effort and complete accuracy in every aspect if we are to put ourselves in a position to challenge for the result we all dream of.”
Robbie Dickson, head coach of Namibia’s newly crowned champion club Trustco United, said the best approach is to be realistic about what lies ahead.
He watched Italy comfortably beating Japan (ranked 14th), which indicates the difficulty of the task, he said.
However, Dickson added that rugby can be unpredictable and if the Welwitschias have their heads on right and follow the plan, anything can happen.
He further emphasised that the more professional nature of Italian rugby and that team's continued exposure in the Six Nations should give them the edge.
“Italy are a good side. They are higher up in the ranks, so it will be a very tough match. I know Allister Coetzee [Namibia's head coach] said he wants to win two matches in the tournament, but whatever the result, I believe we will use the Italy match as a stepping stone for when we meet Uruguay.
“Uruguay will be the match to target and I think we can win that one. But I also hope that Allister has a couple of surprises up his sleeve for Italy,” Dickson said.
Confidence
FNB Wanderers coach Dirk Human echoed his sentiments, saying Italy has a highly experienced team which competes at a much higher level.
He however added that Namibia has several experienced players who ply their trade overseas and they can contribute massively to the team’s confidence.
Human reckons the first 30 to 40 minutes will be crucial for the Namibian hopes, as Italy will come out very strong. The final quarter will determine the eventual difference, in his view.
Coetzee, who was the Springboks coach until 2018, expressed Namibia’s ambitious goal of winning two games at the tournament, which would mean automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup.
The tour to South America last month was important in achieving this goal, he said.
Namibia’s record against Italy
In June 1991, Italy toured the newly independent Namibia and were famously beaten in both test matches in Windhoek. The Namibians, coached by Henning Snyman and captained by Gerhard Mans at the time, convincingly beat Italy 17-7 and 33-19.
Ten years later, on 23 June 2001, Namibia once again defeated Italy 49-24. The side was at that time coached by Henry Pretorius and captained by Wolfie Duvenhage.
The sides met again at the 2019 World Cup in Japan, with Italy achieving a 47-22 win against Phil Davies’ side, with Tjiuee Uanivi as the captain.
Namibia scored three tries – by left wing JC Greyling, scrum-half Damian Stevens and wing Chad Plato.
In non-test appearances, Namibia twice beat Emerging Italy in consecutive World Rugby Nations Cup tournaments – both times with Renaldo Bothma as captain and under Davies as head coach.
In 2016 in Bucharest, the Namibians won 38-26, and when the tournament was held in Montevideo the next year, Namibia won by an identical score (38-26).
On 25 June last year, Coetzee’s side lost to Italy A 43-21in a friendly in Cape Town as a warm-up to Namibia’s successful World Cup qualifying tournament held in France.
Namibia Rugby World Cup 2023 squad
Forwards
Jason Benade, Adriaan Booysen, Aranos Coetzee, Wian Conradie
Tiaan de Klerk, Prince Gaoseb, Richard Hardwick, Max Katjijeko, Adriaan Ludick, Johan Retief, Desiderius Sethie, Haitembu Shikufa, Mahepisa Tjeriko, Tjiuee Uanivi, Louis van der Westhuizen, Torsten van Jaarsveld, PJ van Lill, Casper Viviers, Obert Nortje.
Backs
Oela Blaauw, Danco Burger, Johan Deysel, JC Greyling, Cliven Loubser, Le Roux Malan, Gerswin Mouton, Alcino Izaacs, Divan Rossouw, Damian Stevens, Tiaan Swanepoel, Jacques Theron and Andre van der Berg.
Plato, who scored a try against Italy in their 2019 World Cup opener in Japan, aggravated a hamstring injury in the warm-up friendly against the Vodacom Bulls two weekends ago and has been withdrawn from the announced squad.
The Namibia Rugby Union is awaiting approval from World Rugby before announcing his replacement.
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