Spain beat Namibia in Madrid

NAMIBIA’s national rugby team lost their second match of their European tour when they went down 34-13 to Spain in Madrid on Saturday. This follows on their 47-20 defeat to Russia the previous week.

Namibia opened the scoring through a try and conversion by scrum half Damian Stevens, but Spain soon started to take control and by halftime had taken a 21-10 lead.

There weren’t many points in a dour second half, with Stevens adding two more penalties, while Spain added another try and two penalties to close out the victory.

Namibia coach Phil Davies said they were disappointed with the result.

“The game was a very physical encounter for the players and we are very disappointed with the end result and parts of the performance. As mentioned a couple of times before, only having played two competitive matches since mid-August has not helped at all, however the players worked well in preparation for the match against Spain.”

According to a press release issued by Namibia Rugby Limited, Davies was particularly disappointed with Namibia’s inability to be more accurate in key aspects of the game, for example ball retention and the scrum. Despite these two areas, some positive aspects included the adaptability of the players in the second half, when they played a wider style; adjustments in the scrum that won them a few penalties; the defence; and the opportunity given to the younger players, some of whom made their debut for Namibia.

“Playing at this level in the Northern hemisphere is very different from playing in parts of the Southern hemisphere – the physicality is high and time on the ball is shorter. This is Namibia’s last opportunity to look at different players and continue to build depth for 2019.

“The players have adapted well to the rigours of the tour with many hours spent travelling and a daily training environment, and they have been great ambassadors for their country. The depth that we have created within our squad is excellent, and we have a far bigger playing pool to select from come the World Cup 2019. For example the depth in our lock and fly half positions has increased fourfold compared to the last World Cup in 2015,” Davies said.

“Results are always important, however, at the moment exposing our players, coaches and management to a tough tour is a crucial part of our build-up to 2019. There is a lot of hard work in store for Namibian rugby but we remain optimistic that given the right level of support and preparation, we will have a successful World Cup,” he added.

The Namibian team travelled to Portugal on Sunday where they will have a week to prepare for their last match of the tour against Portugal next Saturday.

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