Namibia head to Uruguay
The build up towards the 2019 Japan Rugby World Cup is gaining momentum, with Namibia gearing up to take part in the World Rugby Nations Cup in June.
Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) president Corrie Mensah confirmed on Friday that Namibia will compete against Argentina, Russia and hosts Uruguay at the World Rugby Nations Cup in June.
The competition is a key World Rugby high-performance tournament and will provide an important platform for the participating unions at a crucial stage in their preparations ahead of Asia's first Rugby World Cup, which kicks off in Japan on 20 September.
Namibia will play in the opening match on Tuesday, 4 June against Argentina at the Charrua Stadium in Montevideo.
Their second game takes place on Sunday, 9 June against Uruguay at the same stadium in Montevideo.
“The countries we will face are great and will give us a great run for our money. We will only have a few players from abroad, so we will test the depth of the locally-based players and also give them exposure.
“It will be tough and as we won't go with a full-strength squad, but this is a great opportunity,” Mensah said.
He also said they will announce the training squad for the competition this week.
Uruguay will face stiff competition from fellow Rugby World Cup qualifiers Namibia, who secured their place in the World Cup as Africa's number one by winning last year's Africa Gold Cup.
The round-robin format tournament will be played over three match days on June 4, 9 and 15 in the 14th edition of the competition.
Uruguay, who defeated Canada home and away in 2018 to qualify for Rugby World Cup as Americas 2, are the team to beat having secured back-to-back Nations Cup titles in 2017 and 2018.
The four participating nations will not face each other in the pool phase of Rugby World Cup, as Russia have been drawn in Pool A together with Ireland, Scotland, Japan and Samoa, while Namibia are in Pool B alongside New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Canada.
In Pool C, Argentina will take on England, France, the United States and Tonga while Uruguay is in Pool D with Australia, Wales, Georgia and Fiji.
World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “We are helping emerging nation unions such as Namibia, Russia and Uruguay by providing essential funding to support the salaries of the coaching staff and technical advisors, and sports science sports medicine initiatives.”
-Additional reporting by NAMPA/ANA
LIMBA MUPETAMI
The competition is a key World Rugby high-performance tournament and will provide an important platform for the participating unions at a crucial stage in their preparations ahead of Asia's first Rugby World Cup, which kicks off in Japan on 20 September.
Namibia will play in the opening match on Tuesday, 4 June against Argentina at the Charrua Stadium in Montevideo.
Their second game takes place on Sunday, 9 June against Uruguay at the same stadium in Montevideo.
“The countries we will face are great and will give us a great run for our money. We will only have a few players from abroad, so we will test the depth of the locally-based players and also give them exposure.
“It will be tough and as we won't go with a full-strength squad, but this is a great opportunity,” Mensah said.
He also said they will announce the training squad for the competition this week.
Uruguay will face stiff competition from fellow Rugby World Cup qualifiers Namibia, who secured their place in the World Cup as Africa's number one by winning last year's Africa Gold Cup.
The round-robin format tournament will be played over three match days on June 4, 9 and 15 in the 14th edition of the competition.
Uruguay, who defeated Canada home and away in 2018 to qualify for Rugby World Cup as Americas 2, are the team to beat having secured back-to-back Nations Cup titles in 2017 and 2018.
The four participating nations will not face each other in the pool phase of Rugby World Cup, as Russia have been drawn in Pool A together with Ireland, Scotland, Japan and Samoa, while Namibia are in Pool B alongside New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Canada.
In Pool C, Argentina will take on England, France, the United States and Tonga while Uruguay is in Pool D with Australia, Wales, Georgia and Fiji.
World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “We are helping emerging nation unions such as Namibia, Russia and Uruguay by providing essential funding to support the salaries of the coaching staff and technical advisors, and sports science sports medicine initiatives.”
-Additional reporting by NAMPA/ANA
LIMBA MUPETAMI
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