Backs to the wall – Burger 

The Namibian Welwitschias are hard at work, preparing for the final 2027 Rugby World Cup Qualifier in Dubai next month.

Namibia will join Belgium, Samoa and Paraguay at the final qualifier from 8 to 18 November at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai where the four teams will battle it out for one final spot at the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

The tournament will be held on a round robin basis with each team playing three matches, while the team with the most points will claim the 24th and final spot at the 2027 world cup.

The Namibian squad has been preparing for more than a month now and Namibia’s director of rugby, Jacques Burger, who is also the caretaker coach, says they are up for the challenge.

“We know it’s going to be tough, but we’re not going to shy away from that. It’s another opportunity and we have to make sure that we play three of our best games that we’ve ever played if we want to qualify for this world cup,” he says.

“A lot of people have written us off already and we’ve got our backs against the wall, so it’s going to show the character of this group, and the pride we have as a team, that’s going to pull us through,” he says.

Namibia lost out on direct qualification to Zimbabwe when they lost the Africa Cup final 30-28 in July, and Burger says it was a big blow.

“There was a lot of disappointment when we lost, and we did a lot of reflection to see where we can improve as a squad and as a coaching team, and the players have done the same as well, to make sure we are all ready when it’s time to go,” he says.

“But the great thing is that we have another opportunity, so we’ve been working really hard over the past month, and the preparations have gone well. We are excited for the challenge ahead and when you’re given a second chance you have to make use it,” Burger says.

Based on previous world cup participation, Samoa and Namibia are the two most experienced nations in the group with Samoa having competed at nine successive world cups since 1991, while Namibia have competed at seven successive world cups since 1999.

Samoa is currently also the top-ranked nation amongst the group with a world ranking of 16th, but Namibia has dropped down to 27th, while Belgium has moved up to 22nd in the world. Paraguay is the lowest ranked of the four with a world ranking of 31.

Burger says all their opponents will provide tough matches.

“We’ve studied all the teams that we will play against. Paraguay was a bit of a shock, beating Brazil, but well done to them. I played Paraguay at u19 level, and I know they’re physical, like all South American teams are, so they’ll be fired up and ready to go,” he says.

“We all know what Samoa brings – their amount of physicality and their running game, while they also have big ball carriers, and Belgium as well, their rugby has grown a lot over the years. They are ranked 22nd and we are 27th, so it’s all going to be tough games, and we’re going to have to make sure we’re on point every time we step on that pitch in November,” he says.

The Namibian squad is largely the same as the one that competed in the Africa Cup, although there have been a few additions, with United States-based wingback Divan Rossouw and Romanian-based scrumhalf/flyhalf Helarius Kisting joining the squad, as well as centre and former captain Johan Deysel and wing JC Greyling, who have both come out of retirement.

The final 30-man squad still has to be selected, but Burger says he is excited by the players at their disposal.

“We still have to select the final squad, but I’m excited with the players we have and where we are at now. We’ll see in the next couple of days who makes the cut, but we will make sure that we pick the right team – a team that can compete and that’s used to the opposition,” he says.

“The quality of opposition is going to be high-paced, and it’s going to be high intensity games, so we need to make sure that we pick a team that’s well conditioned, while experience is going to play a massive role as well,” he says.

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