Diergaardt confident of qualifying for 2027 World Cup 

Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) vice president Johan Diergaardt is confident that Namibia will qualify for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

This is despite their poor showing at the Africa Cup in Uganda last month.

Namibia were knocked out in the semifinals, losing 32-10 to Zimbabwe, who went on to win the trophy after beating Algeria 29-3 in the final, while Namibia finished third after beating Kenya 38-27.

It was the first time in 12 years that Zimbabwe had won the trophy, while Namibia’s dominance came to an end after winning the trophy on six occasions during that time.

Namibia’s defeat, however, was not too costly, since the world cup qualifier will only come up next year, and Diergaardt yesterday said he was confident Namibia will qualify for their eighth successive world cup next year.

“I have no doubt that we will qualify for the world cup again, if we select our strongest team, but it’s going to take a lot of hard work and thorough preparation because it’s becoming more and more difficult. We were undercooked for the Africa Cup this year and we must make sure that we are well-prepared for next year’s tournament,” he said.

“This year’s Africa Cup was not that important, so the idea was to give more opportunities to our local players and to broaden the base, so that we can take stock of what we have. But next year’s Africa Cup will be the qualifier for the 2027 World Cup, so we will definitely send our strongest team to that competition,” Diergaardt added.

Namibia has close to 30 professional players playing abroad in countries like the United States, Poland, Georgia, France, Romania and South Africa, but mainly used a locally-based team at the Africa Cup. Diergaardt said it was clear there is still a gap between local and professional players.

“Some of the local players took their opportunities in Uganda, but a lot of them failed to make the grade – they lack the necessary speed, power and vision, especially among the backs,” he said.

“The step-up from club rugby to national rugby is just too big,” he said.

More competitions in the pipeline

Diergaardt said the NRU is planning several competitions towards the end of the year to assist their preparations for next year.

“We are preparing regional teams for a regional competition that will be held after completion of the club rugby premier league. There will be two regional teams from the central region and one each from the south, north and west, as well as an under-20 team, so the competition will help prepare them for next year’s under-20 Africa Cup,” he said.

“Then Ongos has come on board as a sponsor for a sevens tournament that we will hold towards the end of the year, with three legs in Walvis Bay, Keetmanshoop and Windhoek. This will give aboost to our sevens programme,” Diergaardt said.

He said the NRU was also in talks with the South Africa Rugby Union (Saru) to try and organise more matches in preparation for the 2025 Africa Cup.

“After our regional tournament, we will select a Welwitchias side to play two matches against South African teams in November,” he said.

Diergaardt, meanwhile, quashed rumours that national coach Allister Coetzee might leave his post prematurely.

The South African newspaper Rapport on Sunday reported that Saru is busy revamping its coaching structure and that Coetzee, Heynecke Meyer, Nick Mallett and Gert Smal might be asked to join in a mentorship role. Diergaardt, however, said it will not affect his contract with the NRU.

“The idea is to involve them in a mentorship role with other coaches, but it’s only an idea and nothing has been decided yet. Allister has a contract with the NRU till the end of the year and we haven’t decided yet whether we will renew it or not,” he said.