Russia to provide a tough test

A youthful Namibian rugby team will face a baptism of fire when they meet Russia in a test match at the Hage Geingob Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Namibia Rugby Union organised the match to help Namibia prepare for the upcoming Vodacom Cup competition in South Africa, where Namibia will compete for the first time since 2002.The Russians have not qualified for the Rugby World Cup yet, but they have improved considerably over the past few years and are currently ranked higher than Namibia. Russia is currently ranked 18th in the world, while Namibia is ranked 22nd, according to the latest IRB rankings which were issued on January 18. In Rugby World Cup qualifying matches last year, Russia beat Portugal 18-14 and Romania 28-19 away, before they lost 29-21 against Georgia.Russia has been touring South Africa over the past few weeks and on Monday provided some tough opposition to the Blue Bulls U21 team, before going down 28-21. Namibia has not met Russia before, but they have played against mutual opponents over the past few years.In November last year Namibia beat Portugal 12-9 in a test match in Lisbon, and at the 2007 World Cup Namibia lost 30-0 to Georgia. In the same year, Namibia lost 28-16 to Romania in an IRB Nations Cup match.Saturday’s match will see the young flankers Thomasau Forbes and Andre Vermeulen making their debuts for the national team, while scrumhalf Eniel Buitendach and centre Darryl de la Harpe have been called up to the bench.The match is scheduled to start at 16h00 on Saturday while the entrance fee is N$20 per person. – www.namibiasport.com.na