FORMER national rugby star Dirk Farmer will always be remembered for his speed and agility on the field of play.
Born and bred at Keetmanshoop, Farmer managed to make it into the national team when rugby was still considered to be a predominantly white sport.
“It was not easy to make it into the Namibian team those years. A player of colour was expected to be at the top of their game to play for the national rugby team.
“I was also surrounded by exceptional players – whether I played for TransNamib, Reho Falcons or Keetmanshoop Rugby Club,” he says.
It was during Farmer’s time at PK de Villiers Secondary School that he started taking rugby seriously and was rewarded with a call-up to the national under-21 team in 1994.
He caught the eye of the late former national coach Henning Snyman, who called him up to the senior team the following year.
Farmer, who started playing club rugby for the family club Revolutions at the time, soon found himself on the national side that represented Namibia at the All-Africa Games in Harare, in Zimbabwe, in 1995.
The winger received an offer from Windhoek-based TransNamib Rugby Club, after the All-Africa Games, and also started working for the parastatal, before he later enjoyed a brief spell with the former police club, Harlequins, also in the city.
“Things finally started to happen for me at national team level, and soon I found myself at the Rugby Sevens in New Zealand. Thereafter I helped the national team qualify for the Rugby World Cup during the qualifiers tournament in Casablanca, Morocco, in 1998.
“It was absolutely sensational because we were the first group of Namibian players to qualify the country to participate in its first-ever Rugby World Cup in 1999. Never mind the beatings, playing at the World Cup was such a thrilling experience,” he says.
Farmer says his father Dirk Farmer Sr was his mentor and biggest motivator – although his entire family supported his rugby career.
He can’t stop talking about meeting and even taking a picture with the record-breaking former try scorer Jonah Lomu of the All Blacks during the Rugby Sevens in New Zealand.
He is also the proud winner of two club championships with TransNamib.
Farmer ended up playing one match for the Leopards professional rugby union team in the Northern Province, while the Blue Bulls also showed interest and wanted him to settle in Pretoria – an offer he declined.
Farmer, who names Namibia’s qualification for the ’99 Rugby World Cup as his best sporting moment, says he played some of his best rugby when Namibia played in the Currie Cup.
The two-time club rugby champion with Reho Falcons says he has only one regret: that he could not attend the funeral of his father, because he was with the national team in Morocco at the time.
The former winger finally hung up his playing boots in 2002 and went on to work at Skorpion Zinc Mine at Rosh Pinah in 2004.
He later moved to Navachab Gold Mine until he was voluntarily retrenched in 2019.
FARMING FAMILY
The retired speed star is now a full-time farmer in the Helmeringhausen district in the //Kharas region.
“I am at a resettlement farm called Chames Seud, and I am enjoying it. Farming is actually in my blood. I was taught this business by my late parents, and I am really comfortable doing what I am doing here – working with animals.
“I have been buying animals ever since I started to work, and luckily I had enough in order to qualify for a resettlement farm after 10 years of applying to be resettled. I can now SAY I am a full-time farmer and I am striving to make the best of my career,” says.
The former Keetmanshoop star is farming with cattle, sheep, goats, and layer chickens, while he also breeds Boerboels and Fox Terriers.
“It is every farmer’s dream to have healthy livestock, and I am blessed to be well equipped in that department. It is always a challenge when it is not raining, but we have been blessed this year,” he says.
Farmer says he is living his dream.
“I have a beautiful family and I have a farm, even though it is a resettlement farm. My only regret is the injuries I have sustained during my playing days.
“But the pleasure I enjoyed on the rugby field I can’t exchange for anything,” he says.
Farmer is married to Enrica, a former netball star who is the United Netball Club’s current coach.
The couple has two children.
His advice to young, aspiring rugby players is to grab opportunities.
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