Going’s rough for Nam rugby teams

THE Sevens and the Under-19 national rugby teams find the going tough in two different competitions in Hong Kong ans South Africa respectively.

The national under-19 team lost their opening match of the International Rugby Board (IRB) Under-19 World Championships against Morocco 16-10 in Durban, South Africa on Saturday. The defeat placed them eighth out of 12 teams competing in the B Division.Morocco is occupying fifth position, while other Pool C members Uruguay and the United States of America, are in fourth and 11th positions, respectively.Chile are the B Division leaders.Namibia’s next match is lined up for Wednesday, March 31 against Tonga and again on April 4 against Korea.The semi-finals of the competition starts on April 8, while the tournament will come to a close on April 12.Meanwhile, the national rugby sevens team also went down in the quarter-final stages of the IRB Hong Kong Sevens that ended Sunday.The Namibians lost against France 31-5 in the Plate division Sunday.Their first defeat was at the hands of Australia by 31-12 on Friday, then suffered another blow, this time from Samoa by 31-0.The only win was against Chinese Taipei, beating them 33-28.England beat Argentina for the third time in the Cup competition, while Scotland beat France to claim the Plate final and the Cook Islands were surprise victors over Japan in the Bowl final.The Hong Kong Sevens is the fifth leg of the 2004 International Rugby Board World Sevens Series.The Namibians are expected back today.- NampaThe defeat placed them eighth out of 12 teams competing in the B Division.Morocco is occupying fifth position, while other Pool C members Uruguay and the United States of America, are in fourth and 11th positions, respectively.Chile are the B Division leaders.Namibia’s next match is lined up for Wednesday, March 31 against Tonga and again on April 4 against Korea.The semi-finals of the competition starts on April 8, while the tournament will come to a close on April 12.Meanwhile, the national rugby sevens team also went down in the quarter-final stages of the IRB Hong Kong Sevens that ended Sunday.The Namibians lost against France 31-5 in the Plate division Sunday.Their first defeat was at the hands of Australia by 31-12 on Friday, then suffered another blow, this time from Samoa by 31-0.The only win was against Chinese Taipei, beating them 33-28.England beat Argentina for the third time in the Cup competition, while Scotland beat France to claim the Plate final and the Cook Islands were surprise victors over Japan in the Bowl final.The Hong Kong Sevens is the fifth leg of the 2004 International Rugby Board World Sevens Series.The Namibians are expected back today.- Nampa