Deysel in for final showdown vs Kenya

The Namibian rugby selectors have made one change to the starting fifteen to take on Kenya in the final match of the Windhoek Draught Tri-Nations Series on Saturday afternoon.

Johan Deysel comes in at centre in place of Johan Tromp who moves to the wing, with Sergio de la Harpe dropped from the starting lineup.

Deysel has been out of action for most of the year due to an injury, but has now recovered and coach Danie Vermeulen said he wanted to give him a chance to prove himself.

“Johan played for Potchefstroom University in the South African Varsity Cup competition at the beginning of the year before he was sidelined by a groin injury. He had an operation and has now returned to action so I want to give him a chance and see how he fits in,” he said.

There are two other changes amongst the substitutes with Arthur Bouwer replacing Eneill Buitendag, while the youthful Chris Arries is also added to the substitutes. Arries still represented the all-conquering Windhoek High School team this year when they won the Metropolitan Schools Trophy for a record seventh year in a row, while two other WHS players, lock Janco Venter and hooker Louis van der Westhuizen are also amongst the substitutes.

“I want to have these young players in our system and would like to give them a chance. We already used Janco Venter and Louis van der Westhuizen as substitutes against Zimbabwe last weekend, and we might also give Chris a chance against Kenya. They are all very talented players and could be contenders for a place in the team next year,” Vermeulen said.

The rest of the team is the same as the one that beat Zimbabwe 35-26 last weekend and consists of a solid pack of forwards and a swift, attacking backline. Namibia’s pack dominated the scrums against Zimbabwe, while they ran in a total of five tries in a commanding performance.

Zimbabwe however came back to beat Kenya 29-14 on Tuesday evening, and Namibia will now start as firm favourites to beat Kenya tomorrow afternoon. Vermeulen admitted that he had expected more from Kenya.

“I must say I was a bit surprised by their performance against Zimbabwe and expected more from Kenya, but that game is now over. They realise it was not a good performance and will be much better on Saturday. At times they looked very dangerous on the counterattack against Zimbabwe and we will definitely not underestimate them,” he said.

Vermeulen said the Windhoek Draught Tri-Nations Series had been a tremendous help in their preparation for next year’s Rugby World Cup qualifiers.

“The series has been invaluable and has given us opportunities to experiment, and it’s important that the continuity is maintained. The more we play, the stronger the group will become, so I’d like to thank Namibia Breweries for sponsoring this series,” he said.

There will be a full day of activities on Saturday, starting with a ‘Get into Rugby’ youth tournament at 08h00, which will see teams from Katima Mulilo, Rundu, Oshakati, Walvis Bay, Keetmanshoop and Windhoek competing.

A Sevens Rugby competition will start at 12h00 while the final encounter between Namibia U20 and a Namibian Invitational team will start at 15h00.

The entrance fee is N$20 for adults and N$10 for pensioners while youths under 18 may enter free of charge.

The Namibian team is as follows:

Jaco Engels, Rathony Bekker, Andre Schlechter, Munee Thiueza, Morne Blom, Rohan Kitshoff, Tinus du Plessis, PJ van Lill (captain), Eugene Jantjies, Theuns Kotze (vice captain), Heinrich Smit, Darryl de la Harpe, Johan Deysel, Johan Tromp and Chrysander Botha.

The substitutes are Louis van der Westhuizen, Johnny Redelinghuys, Shaun du Preez, Stephan Neustadt, Janco Venter, Arthur Bouwer, Chris Arries and Justin Nel.

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