World Cup here we come!

NAMIBIA sealed a place in the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France after an emphatic 27-8 victory over Morocco in Casablanca on Saturday.

The gutsy Namibian side played with purpose during the entire match and this ensured them a third entry into the global rugby showpiece. Namibia played at the 1999 World Cup in Wales, the 2003 competition in Australia and have now booked their seat for next year’s event which kicks off in June in France.The Namibians, who are generally dominant at home, beat Morocco 25-7 in their home leg and held an 18-point lead before going into Saturday’s match.This means Namibia qualified for the World Cup with a 52-15 aggregate win.A highly disciplined performance by the visitors made them stand out against their opponents, who were rather more inclined towards foul-play, with a free-for-all fist fight resulting late in the first half.Namibia’s prolific flyhalf Emile Wessels opened the scoring for Namibia as his penalty shot sailed perfectly through the post to make it three-all after a successful drop-goal by Morocco’s flyhalf Thomas Garcia earlier in the match.Veteran Namibian flanker Herman Lintvelt used his bulky physique as he carved his way past several tacklers to score an awesome try deep into injury time of the first half to extend the lead to 8-3, before Wessels converted.Speedy Namibian winger Melrick Africa was the next to put his name on the score sheet early in the second half, as he dived over in the corner after being put into the gap by centre Corne Powell who delivered a well-timed skip pass.Wessels failed to convert as his shot went wide.Fullback Heini Bock, used his pace effectively in the 65th minute after he got an opportunity of breaking through the Moroccan defence to score a trademark try in a “catch me if you can” situation.Africa was instrumental in Namibia’s last try of the match by sprinting past the Moroccan defence before he unloaded to Eugene Jantjies who scored just behind the post.Wessels converted, but Morocco got a late try which did not matter, as time was not on their side.Namibia will play in Pool D with Argentina, Ireland and the hosts France.Namibia’s qualification means that all but four of the 20 spots for next year’s tournament have been filled.Namibia played at the 1999 World Cup in Wales, the 2003 competition in Australia and have now booked their seat for next year’s event which kicks off in June in France.The Namibians, who are generally dominant at home, beat Morocco 25-7 in their home leg and held an 18-point lead before going into Saturday’s match.This means Namibia qualified for the World Cup with a 52-15 aggregate win.A highly disciplined performance by the visitors made them stand out against their opponents, who were rather more inclined towards foul-play, with a free-for-all fist fight resulting late in the first half.Namibia’s prolific flyhalf Emile Wessels opened the scoring for Namibia as his penalty shot sailed perfectly through the post to make it three-all after a successful drop-goal by Morocco’s flyhalf Thomas Garcia earlier in the match.Veteran Namibian flanker Herman Lintvelt used his bulky physique as he carved his way past several tacklers to score an awesome try deep into injury time of the first half to extend the lead to 8-3, before Wessels converted.Speedy Namibian winger Melrick Africa was the next to put his name on the score sheet early in the second half, as he dived over in the corner after being put into the gap by centre Corne Powell who delivered a well-timed skip pass.Wessels failed to convert as his shot went wide.Fullback Heini Bock, used his pace effectively in the 65th minute after he got an opportunity of breaking through the Moroccan defence to score a trademark try in a “catch me if you can” situation.Africa was instrumental in Namibia’s last try of the match by sprinting past the Moroccan defence before he unloaded to Eugene Jantjies who scored just behind the post.Wessels converted, but Morocco got a late try which did not matter, as time was not on their side.Namibia will play in Pool D with Argentina, Ireland and the hosts France.Namibia’s qualification means that all but four of the 20 spots for next year’s tournament have been filled.