Allister puts forward the case for a franchise
Rugby
The Land of the Brave competed at seven editions of the Rugby World Cup since making its first appearance in 1999, but has yet to record a victory at the sport’s ultimate showpiece. Namibian national team coach Allister Coetzee says during this time the country only managed to come close to scoring a win.
“It will always be like that because we are doing the same thing over and over again. If we want a different result, we must come up with another approach.”
Coetzee strongly believes the creation of a franchise team with a group of players as well as opportunities for these players to play competitive rugby on the international stage will move Namibian rugby forward.
“I would like to see our national team players being employed, even if it is just for three to six months of the year, and participating in the Currie Cup or competing somewhere in a cup competition in Europe as the Welwitschia team.
“Such a move will improve rugby in the country and advance Namibia’s cause to compete internationally.
He mentioned that having regular training sessions is but one of many ingredients needed in the process of building Namibian rugby.
“We play in one local competition and we do not have a core group of players that train together consistently, due to the vast distances between the towns.
“Players elsewhere play in a club competition, provisional, or a Varsity Cup, for instance. They get so much exposure and therefore their development is much quicker and they become better quality players.
“Most of our players have working jobs, they are not full-time professional athletes and they also have club duties.”
Coetzee added that it is therefore important to make sure available talent is nurtured well and a pathway is created from under-20 level to a club system, regional system, the Welwitschias and national team.
Upcoming fixtures
Over the last few weeks, Coetzee has worked with a preliminary squad of 52 invited players, as the build-up to qualification for the 2027 World Cup gets underway.
“These players have an opportunity to get into the national team. The focus for this year is on local players and those playing in South Africa. The truth is that it is not financially viable and a costly exercise to fly players in and out from overseas.
“I am therefore really driving the local players to get the exposure and to come through this year.”
Coetzee is expected to trim his training squad to around 30 players this week, as preparation for the warm-up match against the Vodacom Bulls (29 June) and the test against Portugal on 13 July gets more focused.
Coetzee urged players to find time to make sure they achieve international standards of conditioning.
“They are working day jobs and it is on them to ensure they become stronger and fitter while playing club rugby. It is tricky, it’s a challenge and it’s the reality. Otherwise they will find out that it is a different league playing the Blue Bulls and Portugal which are fully professional teams.”
He acknowledged that the availability of finances hampers interventions.
“With finances at your disposal, we can identify our players and work with those players regularly whether they are full-time or not. Nowadays players want to be paid and do not want to do it for free. They see rugby as a career. Adequate financial resources is a must-have for the development of players.”
Coetzee invited corporate Namibia to come to the party.
“It is good to be involved when it is World Cup, but you cannot wait until you play Portugal and then start training a week before that. Interventions have to start early and have to be implemented if you look at the next four-year cycle. Preparations and groundwork for the next World Cup and the qualifiers should really be done now.”
• Get your tickets for the matches against the Vodacom Blue Bulls (29 June) and Portugal (13 July) online at eticket.my.na