Drop king De Beer appointed at Windhoek Gymnasium

FORMER Springbok fly half Jannie de Beer was on Thursday announced as Windhoek Gymnasium’s director of rugby for next year.

De Beer played 30 tests for the Springboks and will always be remembered for scoring five drop goals against England at the 1999 World Cup – a world record which still stands today.

At a press conference on Thursday, which was also attended by the chief administrator of the Namibia Sport Commission, Fred Mwiya and Namibia Rugby Limited CEO Mervin Green, Windhoek Gymnasium head coach Janneman Brand said that De Beer would add a lot of value to Windhoek Gymnasium and Namibia as a whole.

“We believe he will make a valuable contribution and will help raise the standard of rugby at Windhoek Gymnasium. We are very excited that he is coming here but he will also be an asset for Namibia as a whole. As a person he has a lot to offer and we are looking forward to working with him,” he added, saying that De Beer will start working at Windhoek Gymnasium at the beginning of 2020.

Colette Rieckert, the managing director of Windhoek Gymnasium outlined De Beer’s responsibilities:

“We recently created the position of director of rugby, which is more than just a rugby coach, and Jannie will serve as an ambassador for rugby to fulfil our vision of promoting rugby in our community and country. He will be responsible for the administration and for putting structures in place from the ‘tjokkers’ playing tag rugby, up to the first rugby team,” she said.

“The primary responsibility of the director of rugby is the development of an engaging, challenging and inclusive program across all age groups. Together with the rugby committee, De Beer will ensure that our boys are inspired to be active for life and harness the power of sport to support well being, develop character and make a positive contribution to society,” she added.

At the same occasion Rieckert said that a huge honour had been bestowed on Windhoek Gymnasium since its first team had been invited to compete at the Sanix World Rugby Youth Tournament in 2020, which will be held in Fukuyoka, Japan from 26 April to 6 May.

Eight school teams from New Zealand, Australia, England, France, South Africa and Namibia will compete at the annual tournament, which also includes eight school teams from Japan.

“This is always an amazing experience for the players, as they enjoy excellent treatment from the organisers and sponsors, while enjoying superb rugby and interesting excursions in Japan. This tour is indeed something to look forward to in the new year, and we believe it will become a highlight on our annual rugby calendar,” Rieckert said.

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