Our Sportsmen Did Us Proud

IN THE current rather depressing political landscape, characterised largely by a lack of leadership and dissension at various levels, it came as a huge boost to Namibians to hear that our national soccer and rugby teams have done us proud with their recent achievements.

On the football front, the Brave Warriors put up a commendable performance in Ethiopia when they clinched their place in the 2008 African Cup of Nations by beating Ethiopia 3-2 in Addis Ababa. The national depression which had set in regarding the state of our country’s football at national level, lifted at the news that the Warriors had made it into Africa’s largest tournament.Their victory was secured with a last-minute goal by young striker Mua Katupose.Hopefully this good news is going to boost our nation at the level of continental soccer, and the Warriors have some hard work ahead of them in the coming months to ensure that they are in peak form for the Africa Nations Cup.The victory was a sweet one because it is only the second time that Namibia has qualified, the first time was in 1998.On the rugby front, Namibia’s Welwitschias did us proud in the Rugby World Cup when they played Ireland in Bordeaux, France, last Sunday night, and although they didn’t emerge the victors, they nevertheless put our rugby on a higher level and this was reflected in the final score of 32-17.They were playing against Ireland, triple Six Nations champions.What was clear to all who watched the games, sport lovers and commentators alike, was that the Namibian team played with passion, and it paid dividends in that they surprised the rugby world by their impressive showing against Ireland.They have a long and hard road ahead in their group, and this Sunday night’s match, against France is going to test them even more.But Namibians were thrilled at their performance, and as the old adage goes: ‘it’s not whether you win but how you play the game’.And their performance swelled the hearts of Namibians worldwide, and inspired kudos from other great rugby nations, some of whose commentators described theirs as an ‘awesome display’ and ‘possibly the best match of the World Cup so far’.We are certain they know that all their countrymen and women are behind them all the way when it comes to the match against France on Sunday.If they play with the same commitment and passion and dogged determination that they did against Ireland, we are certain they will acquit themselves, and thereby the country, very well indeed.Certainly the abovementioned achievements have done the country proud, and have galvanised the nation into giving these players their full support for the games ahead as far as the Rugby World Cup is concerned, and of course next year, for our progress in the football African Cup of Nations.It was regrettable of course that the scandal which has rocked the Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) with regard to the selling of World Cup tickets at inflated prices has cast a shadow over the event, with the rugby administrators barred from attending the tournament.We hope however that whatever the outcome of the investigation into this affair, it will not negatively impact on the performance of the Namibian team.We congratulate our teams on their respective performances to date, and take this opportunity to advise our reading public that it is not always possible for us, given our printing deadlines in the evening, to give coverage to late-night matches the next day.Where flexibility of the print schedule is possible, we will always do our best to give you the news and analysis on matches as soon as is possible.Ironically, our team in blue captured the hearts of the largely French rugby public at the Bordeaux stadium, who shouted for ‘les bleus’, as their own nation team are known! Meanwhile, our support is with the Welwitschias all the way on Sunday night!The national depression which had set in regarding the state of our country’s football at national level, lifted at the news that the Warriors had made it into Africa’s largest tournament.Their victory was secured with a last-minute goal by young striker Mua Katupose.Hopefully this good news is going to boost our nation at the level of continental soccer, and the Warriors have some hard work ahead of them in the coming months to ensure that they are in peak form for the Africa Nations Cup.The victory was a sweet one because it is only the second time that Namibia has qualified, the first time was in 1998.On the rugby front, Namibia’s Welwitschias did us proud in the Rugby World Cup when they played Ireland in Bordeaux, France, last Sunday night, and although they didn’t emerge the victors, they nevertheless put our rugby on a higher level and this was reflected in the final score of 32-17.They were playing against Ireland, triple Six Nations champions.What was clear to all who watched the games, sport lovers and commentators alike, was that the Namibian team played with passion, and it paid dividends in that they surprised the rugby world by their impressive showing against Ireland.They have a long and hard road ahead in their group, and this Sunday night’s match, against France is going to test them even more.But Namibians were thrilled at their performance, and as the old adage goes: ‘it’s not whether you win but how you play the game’.And their performance swelled the hearts of Namibians worldwide, and inspired kudos from other great rugby nations, some of whose commentators described theirs as an ‘awesome display’ and ‘possibly the best match of the World Cup so far’.We are certain they know that all their countrymen and women are behind them all the way when it comes to the match against France on Sunday.If they play with the same commitment and passion and dogged determination that they did against Ireland, we are certain they will acquit themselves, and thereby the country, very well indeed.Certainly the abovementioned achievements have done the country proud, and have galvanised the nation into giving these players their full support for the games ahead as far as the Rugby World Cup is concerned, and of course next year, for our progress in the football African Cup of Nations.It was regrettable of course that the scandal which has rocked the Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) with regard to the selling of World Cup tickets at inflated prices has cast a shadow over the event, with the rugby administrators barred from attending the tournament.We hope however that whatever the outcome of the investigation into this affair, it will not negatively impact on the performance of the Namibian team.We congratulate our teams on their respective performances to date, and take this opportunity to advise our reading public that it is not always possible for us, given our printing deadlines in the evening, to give coverage to late-night matches the next day.Where flexibility of the print schedule is possible, we will always do our best to give you the news and analysis on matches as soon as is possible.Ironically, our team in blue captured the hearts of the largely French rugby public at the Bordeaux stadium, who shouted for ‘les bleus’, as their own nation team are known! Meanwhile, our support is with the Welwitschias all the way on Sunday night!