The national rugby selectors have named a 36-man preliminary squad in preparation of next month’s final qualifying tournament for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Namibia, Belgium, Samoa and the winner between Brazil and Paraguay will battle it out for the final ticket to the world cup in Dubai from 8 to 18 November.
After losing the Africa Cup final 30-28 to Zimbabwe on 19 July, and missing out on an automatic spot to the world cup, Namibia qualified for the final Dubai qualifier with an emphatic 86-29 victory against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) a week later.
Belgium qualified as the fifth-placed team in the 2025 Rugby Europe Championship, finishing behind Georgia, Spain, Romania and Portugal, who have all qualified for the world cup.
Samoa progressed to the Dubai qualifier after losing the Pacific-South American play-off to Chile, 63-44 on aggregate, with Chile qualifying for the world cup.
Brazil and Paraguay will battle it out for third place in the South American qualifiers where the top two nations, Uruguay and Chile, qualified for the world cup.
In a press release issued on Saturday, the Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) announced the preliminary squad, adding that it will be trimmed down to a final 30-man squad on 20 October.
“This group represents a strong balance of experience and emerging Namibian talent, identified through the NRU’s high-performance pathway and national competitions,” it says.
“The final 30-man squad will be officially announced on 20 October following completion of the training and assessment camp,” the statement reads.
The Namibian squad is as follows:
Props: Otja Auala, Joshua Bester, Aranos Coetzee, Gianluca Savoldelli, Haitembu Shikufa, and Herschell van Wyk.
Hookers: Armand Combrinck, Edward Drotsky, Louis van der Westhuizen, and Torsten van Jaarsveld.
Locks: Tiaan de Klerk, Oliver Kurz, Adriaan Ludick, Johan Retief, and Johan Luttig.
Loose-forwards: Adriaan Booysen, Wian Conradie, Riaan Grové, Prince !Gaoseb, Richard Hardwick, and Max Katjijeko.
Scrumhalves: AJ Kearns, Helarius Kisting, and Jacques Theron.
Flyhalves: Cliven Loubser, Tiaan Swanepoel, and Andre van der Berg.
Centres: Danco Burger, Johan Deysel, Alcino Isaacs, Le Roux Malan, and Jay-Cee Nel.
Wings and fullbacks: Jürgen Meyer, Aston Mukwiilongo, Divan Rossouw, and Danie van der Merwe.
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