The Welwitschias ended their European tour without a win after going down to Spain 20-3 yesterday at the Arcul de Triumf Stadium in an International Rugby Board (IRB) Nations Cup tie.
Spain put up a commanding performance against the lowly-ranked Namibian side to finish third.
The Namibian side found the going tough at this year’s tournament, having suffered defeats to Romania and Argentina A. Namibia lost 43-3 to Romania, while they also lost 30-10 to the Argentina’s Jaguars. The tournament is largely seen as preparation for the upcoming IRB World Cup in England. Namibia has qualified for the fifth time in the row to this year’s World Cup.
“So we will use the tournament to add an extra dimension, which we will miss when we go back to Windhoek. Furthermore, playing against teams of the likes of Romania, Spain and the Jaguars is a genuine bonus for our RWC preparations, as well as selection process. We play to win, but as I said this is not what we are after at this stage,” Namibian mentor Danie Vermeulen was recently quoted as saying. The Namibian side will now regroup to start a training camp in Windhoek early next month with many of the international players present.
The Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) has also organised two test matches against Russia on July 11 and 18 in Windhoek.
In August, just weeks before the World Cup starts in England, Namibia will take part in the Africa Cup and will be competing against Confederation of African Rugby 1
A sides namely Kenya and Zimbabwe, also in Windhoek.