Rugby’s under-18s secure 2006 World Cup spot

NAMIBIAN under-18 rugby coach Riaan Jantjies praised his charges for showing great spirit throughout the Confederation of Africa Cup tournament which landed them a place in next year’s Under-18 Rugby World Cup after they defeated a gutsy Zimbabwe side 25-22 in the final match played at the Hage Geingob Stadium on Saturday.

The Namibians led 18-7 at halftime. Jantjies said his team showed fantastic spirit during the two-week tournament, which saw them winning all their matches before finishing off Zimbabwe in an exciting final to book themselves a place in the continental championships in Dubai next year.”I was very happy with the win, as we have been working towards that.Some of the players cried after the match because of they were overwhelmed by the victory.Although we did not play according to plan, the win was the ultimate thing for us,” Jantjies said.Only one of the six countries that competed in the tournament stood a chance to qualify and Namibia, with the home advantage, swept aside all their opponents leading to the final to clinch the qualifying spot.Jantjies said the other important factor that contributed to their win was the spirit in the camp during the tournament.”If it was not for the good spirit that the boys displayed in the camp on in their play, we would have probably not have made it to the top,” he said.He singled out captain PJ Erasmus, a flanker, for showing great determination and good leadership skills to inspire his team to victory.”Another player who impressed is Robbie Berg, a centre, but the other players also played excellently and I am very proud of them,” he said.André Dawids and Hein Chad were yellow-carded for foul play, but Jantjies said despite them being sin-binned, the rest of the team carried on and showed a hunger to win.Zimbabwe’s Keith Murray was named the Man of the Match.Jantjies said his team showed fantastic spirit during the two-week tournament, which saw them winning all their matches before finishing off Zimbabwe in an exciting final to book themselves a place in the continental championships in Dubai next year.”I was very happy with the win, as we have been working towards that.Some of the players cried after the match because of they were overwhelmed by the victory.Although we did not play according to plan, the win was the ultimate thing for us,” Jantjies said.Only one of the six countries that competed in the tournament stood a chance to qualify and Namibia, with the home advantage, swept aside all their opponents leading to the final to clinch the qualifying spot.Jantjies said the other important factor that contributed to their win was the spirit in the camp during the tournament.”If it was not for the good spirit that the boys displayed in the camp on in their play, we would have probably not have made it to the top,” he said.He singled out captain PJ Erasmus, a flanker, for showing great determination and good leadership skills to inspire his team to victory.”Another player who impressed is Robbie Berg, a centre, but the other players also played excellently and I am very proud of them,” he said.André Dawids and Hein Chad were yellow-carded for foul play, but Jantjies said despite them being sin-binned, the rest of the team carried on and showed a hunger to win.Zimbabwe’s Keith Murray was named the Man of the Match.