Namibia take on the UAE in a must-win match at the Mandela National Stadium outside Kampala tomorrow if they hope to remain in the hunt for a place at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Following their 30-28 defeat to Zimbabwe last week, Namibia will now have to go through a tougher qualifying campaign starting with the once-off clash against the UAE, who were the runners-up in the 2025 Asia Rugby Championship, which was concluded earlier this month.
Hong Kong won the Asian championship after winning all three their matches for a total of 15 points to gain direct qualification to the World Cup, while the UAE finished second on 10 points after winning two of their three matches.
They lost 43-10 to Hong Kong in their opening match on 14 June, but bounced back with a narrow 38-36 win against South Korea the next week, while they beat Sri Lanka 29-21 on 4 July to finish second on the log.
The UAE played several international friendly matches last year, including against Zimbabwe in Dubai in November when they were soundly beaten 62-22, after trailing 36-3 at halftime.
They also lost 52-5 against Hong Kong and 26-20 to Germany, although they beat Malaysia 62-19 and South Korea 36-32.
The UAE are currently ranked 39th in the world, well below Namibia, although the Welwitschia have dropped two places down to 27th following their Zimbabwe defeat, while the latter have now moved up to 24th in the world.
While Namibia will start the match as favourites on paper, several of their top players are unavailable for tomorrow’s match according to reports. Die Republikein yesterday reported that several professional players had to return to their clubs following the Zimbabwe match.
The experienced prop Aranos Coetzee, hooker Louis van der Westhuizen and flyhalf Tiaan Swanepoel have all returned to the Cheetahs in South Africa; lock Johan Retief has returned to his Russian club Krasny Yar, while Wian Conradie and Le Roux Malan of the New England Free Jacks in the United States are also unavailable.
Kudus fullback Aston Mukwiilongo, Unam wing Quirione Majiedt, and loose forward and lock Riaan Grove, who plays for French club CA Sarlat Perigord Noir, have been called up to replace the Cheetahs trio.
Besides them, Pumas wing-back JC Nel is also unavailable after injuring his hand against Zimbabwe, although his Pumas partner lock Tiaan de Klerk is available for the UAE match.
Despite the withdrawals, Namibia still has a lot of experience in the likes of captain Prince !Gaoseb, Richard Hardwick, Max Katjijeko, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Cliven Loubser and Andre van der Berg who all play professionally abroad, and they will be determined to get back to winning ways after their Zimbabwe defeat.
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