NRU has Van Wyk in its sights for coaching job

THE Namibia Rugby Union are on the verge of appointing Atlantis Rugby Club coach Kallie van Wyk as the senior national team’s full-time coach, after other candidates turned down the job or proved too costly.

The national team, which is expected to host Morocco in the final of the Africa Cup at the Hage Geingob Rugby Stadium on February 21, has been without a coach since the end of the Rugby World Cup in Australia. The former coach, controversial New Zealander Dave Waterston, left the post immediately after the World Cup as previously agreed with the NRU.NRU President Dirk Conradie said the union had approached former Sharks coach Ian McIntosh and former Springbok centre Dick Muir.”We wanted to get Muir to Namibia twice a week to prepare the side for the Morocco match, but he will cost us N$60 000 in total.We have the money to pay, but we thought we would rather concentrate on a local coach,” he said.Hiring McIntosh would have proved too costly, he said, while some local coaches have already turned down offers of coaching the team.Namibia’s former winger Gerhard Mans turned down the job because of business commitments, while Christo Alexander, who was the assistant to Waterston, was not considered as having the right skills for the job.Conradie also said that United coach Danie Vermeulen had been discounted because of a lack of experience.Conradie said Van Wyk was one of the best coaches in the country and that the NRU wanted to appoint him as the Technical Director of the national side.The Namibian Sport could not trace Van Wyk for comment yesterday as he was reportedly travelling to Windhoek from the coast.He was coming to the capital for talks with NRU about the coaching job, Conradie said.He is currently in charge of Atlantis – a Walvis Bay-based club that play in the national first division.He has been at the helm of the team for about two years and was also a former coach for a South African side in Gauteng, South Africa.Conradie said the main problem hampering the development of Namibian rugby was the lack of a professional set-up in the country, while the pool of players who are good enough to play for the national side has no depth.Conradie added that the NRU has spent thousands of dollars on hiring foreign coaches and helpers, but the situation has not improved as anticipated.Namibia’s performances in last year’s World Cup were worse than on their first appearance in the global showpiece in 1999 in France.”We need to hold an indaba soon where all the stakeholders need to exchange ideas on the future of the game,” he said.The former coach, controversial New Zealander Dave Waterston, left the post immediately after the World Cup as previously agreed with the NRU. NRU President Dirk Conradie said the union had approached former Sharks coach Ian McIntosh and former Springbok centre Dick Muir. “We wanted to get Muir to Namibia twice a week to prepare the side for the Morocco match, but he will cost us N$60 000 in total. We have the money to pay, but we thought we would rather concentrate on a local coach,” he said. Hiring McIntosh would have proved too costly, he said, while some local coaches have already turned down offers of coaching the team. Namibia’s former winger Gerhard Mans turned down the job because of business commitments, while Christo Alexander, who was the assistant to Waterston, was not considered as having the right skills for the job. Conradie also said that United coach Danie Vermeulen had been discounted because of a lack of experience. Conradie said Van Wyk was one of the best coaches in the country and that the NRU wanted to appoint him as the Technical Director of the national side. The Namibian Sport could not trace Van Wyk for comment yesterday as he was reportedly travelling to Windhoek from the coast. He was coming to the capital for talks with NRU about the coaching job, Conradie said. He is currently in charge of Atlantis – a Walvis Bay-based club that play in the national first division. He has been at the helm of the team for about two years and was also a former coach for a South African side in Gauteng, South Africa. Conradie said the main problem hampering the development of Namibian rugby was the lack of a professional set-up in the country, while the pool of players who are good enough to play for the national side has no depth. Conradie added that the NRU has spent thousands of dollars on hiring foreign coaches and helpers, but the situation has not improved as anticipated. Namibia’s performances in last year’s World Cup were worse than on their first appearance in the global showpiece in 1999 in France. “We need to hold an indaba soon where all the stakeholders need to exchange ideas on the future of the game,” he said.