Welwitschias building for Africa Cup

Despite a 59-19 defeat to the Airlink Pumas on Saturday, the Namibian Welwitschias will take a lot of positives out of the game as they prepare for next month’s Africa Cup.
The Pumas, who led 26-14 at halftime, scored nine tries and dominated the set pieces, but the Namibians defended courageously and managed to make good use of the little possession that came their way, scoring three tries of their own.
The Pumas’ flyhalf Danrich Visagie gave a great kicking display, missing just one kick all afternoon for a personal tally of 12 points, while two of their tries were scored by Namibian centre JC Nel, who will be available for Namibia during the latter stages of the Africa Cup.
The Pumas took an early lead when flanker Andre Fouche crashed over for a converted try, while Nel sped through for his first try, to put them 14-0 ahead after 10 minutes.
The Welwitschias opened their account when fullback Cliven Loubser rounded off an attack by Jurgen Meyer, with Andre van der Berg converting, but from the kickoff, JC Nel broke clean through the Welwitschias’ backline to send scrumhalf Ross Braude away for a converted try.
The Welwitschias came storming back, camping on the Pumas’ tryline and Danco Burger crashed through two tackles to go over for a converted try, but Pumas’ wing Lundi Msenge turned on the speed to round off a chip kick by Braude to put the Pumas 26-14 ahead by halftime.

The Pumas turned on the pressure after the break as they camped on Namibia’s tryline and soon increased their lead. Wing Darren Adonis went over in the corner, substitute hooker Darnell Osuagwu caught Namibia’s defence napping when he went over from a short line-out throw, and further tries by flanker Willie Engelbrecht and Nel’s second put them 54-14 ahead.
Namibian substitute back Godwin Silvanus scored a third try for Namibia after intercepting the ball and running the length of the field to dot down, but the Pumas had the final say as substitute forward Stephan de Jager crashed over from a maul with Stefan Coetzee adding the conversion to complete a resounding win.
The Welwitschias’ forwards gave a promising performance against a full-time professional outfit that last month beat Griquas 39-14 to win the South African Cup.

The loose trio of Prince Gaoseb, Max Katjijeko, and Adriaan Booysen was prominent; the halfback pair of Jacques Theron and Andre van der Berg also impressed; and centre Danco Burger once again underlined his reputation as a crash ball specialist.

The Welwitschias’ assistant coach Darryl de la Harpe said he took a lot of positives out of the game. 

“I think we took a lot out of this game, more than them – we wanted to stay in the fight, especially in the first half. I think if we can replicate this in the African Cup, we’ll be in a good spot,” he said.
“I think a lot of the youngsters and the local players stepped up, and we are really happy with that. We really put the guys under pressure for the last two weeks, in fitness and in training, and we could see it today, especially in the first half, the physicality of the game.

“But for a team like the Pumas that won the South African Cup, not really giving us any trouble in the first half, I think we can be proud of that. There’s a lot that we can take from this game, especially staying in the fight defensively, and I think some of the forwards really stepped up today,” he added.

Namibia’s next match is against Italy in a full international test match next Saturday, and De la Harpe said he was looking forward to the encounter. 

“We are positive. We are playing Italy at home and we are getting a few more international players back for the match, so we are excited and looking forward to the game. It will be the last match before we head to Uganda for the Africa Cup, and we are in a positive frame of mind for that.”

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.