Namibia national rugby union team
Template:National rugby team The Namibian rugby union team is one of the minor international teams in rugby union. They are also known as the Welwitschias.
Namibia plays in the annual Africa Cup.
History
Rugby union has been played in the country since 1916 when it was introduced by migrants from South Africa. Before Namibia gained its independence in 1990, the team, as South West Africa, played in South Africa's Currie Cup competition. Their best result was in 1989, where they finished third.
Until independence, players for Namibia were also eligible to represent South Africa with Namibian born Springboks including Jan Ellis and, more recently, Percy Montgomery.
The Namibia Rugby Union was only formed in March 1990, and it joined the International Rugby Board in the same month. Independence came too late for Namibia to qualify for Rugby World Cup 1991. Hardened by regular, tough competition in the Currie Cup, the first few years of Namibian rugby union were relatively successful, their highest point being 2-0 home series victories over Ireland and Italy in 1991. That year the Welwitschias won all 10 of their Tests, the others being five victories against Zimbabwe and one against Portugal in Lisbon.
They qualified for the World Cup the first time in 1999 and, while they suffered heavy defeats by France, Fiji and Canada, they took pride in scoring an early try and being level with France after 20 minutes.
However with a tiny player base, and starved of frequent or strong competition, the team has deteriorated in recent years. Recent defeats to Morocco mean they are ranked below the North African side. Their record in the World Cups has been poor, and they haven't managed a win. Their record defeat, 142-0 against Australia in the 2003 tournament, led to some questioning the presence of the minor teams at the tournament.
Namibia have struggled in the qualifiers for the 2007 tournament, suffering a shock defeat to Kenya, their first ever to the East African nation, and another to Tunisia. After the Kenya defeat they slumped to 28th in the IRB rankings. However, after defeating Tunisia at home they are effectively through to a home deciding match against Morrocco, which will determine which of the two African nations will make it to France in 2007.
International Record
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 8, 2006 | Tunisia | Windhoek | 23-15 | RWC 2007 qualifying |
| September 9, 2006 | Kenya | Nairobi | 26-30 | RWC 2007 qualifying |
| July 1, 2006 | Tunisia | Tunis | 7-24 | RWC 2007 qualifying |
| May 28, 2006 | Kenya | Windhoek | 84-12 | RWC 2007 qualifying |
| November 5, 2005 | Morocco | Morocco | 0-49 | CAR Top 9 |
| October 1, 2005 | Madagascar | Namibia | 56-17 | CAR Top 9 |
| November 13, 2004 | Morocco | Namibia | 39-22 | CAR Top 10 |
| September 25, 2004 | Zimbabwe | Namibia | 68-8 | CAR Top 10 |
| September 11, 2004 | Kenya | Namibia | 65-7 | CAR Top 10 |
| August 14, 2004 | Zambia | Zambia | 52-10 | CAR Top 10 |
| February 28, 2004 | Morocco | Morocco | 7 - 27 | |
| October 30, 2003 | Romania | Launceston | 7 - 37 | RWC 2003 |
| October 25, 2003 | Australia | Adelaide | 0 - 142 | RWC 2003 |
| October 19, 2003 | Ireland | Sydney | 7 - 64 | RWC 2003 |
| October 14, 2003 | Argentina | Gosford | 14 - 67 | RWC 2003 |
| August 16, 2003 | Uganda | Windhoek | 82 - 13 | |
| July 14, 2003 | Manu Samoa | Windhoek | 13 - 40 | |
| July 5, 2003 | South Africa A | Windhoek | 25 - 9 | |
| October 12, 2002 | Tunisia | Tunis | 17 - 24 | |
| September 28, 2002 | Tunisia | Windhoek | 26 - 19 | |
| July 29, 2002 | Zimbabwe | Bulawayo | 42 - 30 | |
| July 14, 2002 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 19 - 15 | |
| June 15, 2002 | Madagascar | Windhoek | 116 - 0 | |
| July 8, 2001 | Zimbabwe | Harare | 26 - 27 | |
| June 23, 2001 | Italy | Windhoek | 24 - 49 | |
| June 16, 2001 | South Africa U-23 | Johannesburg | 13 - 41 | |
| May 25, 2001 | South Africa U-23 | Windhoek | 15 - 60 | |
| September 15, 2000 | Uruguay | Montivideo | 12 - 23 | |
| August 7, 2000 | South Africa U-23 | Windhoek | 18 - 53 | |
| July 22, 2000 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 43 - 34 | |
| July 1, 2000 | Zimbabwe | Harare | 31 - 26 | |
| June 24, 2000 | South Africa U-23 | Bloemfontein | 3 - 91 | |
| October 17, 1999 | Germany | Gera | 79 - 13 | |
| October 14, 1999 | Canada | Toulouse | 11 - 72 | |
| August 10, 1999 | France | Bordeaux | 13 - 47 | |
| July 8, 1999 | Zimbabwe | Pretoria | 32 - 17 | |
| January 10, 1999 | Fiji | Beziers | 18 - 67 | |
| December 9, 1998 | Cote de'Ivorie | Casablanca | 22 - 10 | |
| September 18, 1998 | Zimbabwe | Casablanca | 39 - 14 | |
| September 16, 1998 | Morocco | Casablanca | 17 - 8 | |
| September 5, 1998 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 32 - 26 | |
| April 18, 1998 | Tunisia | Tunis | 17 - 20 | |
| January 23, 1998 | Portugal | Lisbon | 36 - 19 | |
| June 16, 1997 | Zimbabwe | Bulawayo | 26 - 32 | |
| May 24, 1997 | Tonga | Windhoek | 14 - 20 | |
| April 5, 1996 | Zimbabwe | Harare | 19 - 18 | |
| January 3, 1996 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 13 - 15 | |
| February 6, 1995 | Zimbabwe | 19 - 14 | ||
| 1/6/1995 | Zimbabwe | 30 - 25 | ||
| June 18, 1994 | Morocco | Casablanca | 16 - 16 | |
| June 16, 1994 | Cote de'Ivorie | Casablanca | 12 - 13 | |
| June 14, 1994 | Zimbabwe | Casablanca | 25 - 20 | |
| January 6, 1994 | Russia | Windhoek | 12 - 31 | |
| October 7, 1993 | Zimbabwe | Nairobi | 41 - 16 | |
| July 7, 1993 | Kenya | Nairobi | 60 - 9 | |
| May 6, 1993 | Wales | Windhoek | 23 - 38 | |
| March 7, 1993 | Persian Gulf | Nairobi | 64 - 20 | |
| August 5, 1992 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 69 - 26 | |
| May 1, 1992 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 55 - 23 | |
| September 12, 1991 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 46 - 20 | |
| August 8, 1991 | Zimbabwe | Harare | 23 - 16 | |
| July 27, 1991 | Ireland | Windhoek | 26 - 15 | |
| July 20, 1991 | Ireland | Windhoek | 15 - 6 | |
| July 8, 1991 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 53 - 9 | |
| July 1, 1991 | Zimbabwe | Windhoek | 34 - 15 | |
| June 22, 1991 | Italy | Windhoek | 33 - 19 | |
| June 15, 1991 | Italy | Windhoek | 17 - 7 | |
| May 24, 1991 | Portugal | Lisbon | 34 - 12 | |
| January 8, 1991 | Zimbabwe | Harare | 22 - 19 | |
| November 13, 1990 | France XV | Arras | 0 - 33 | |
| September 6, 1990 | Wales | Windhoek | 30 - 34 | |
| June 30, 1990 | France XV | Windhoek | 20 - 25 | |
| June 23, 1990 | France XV | Windhoek | 15 - 24 | |
| June 2, 1990 | Wales | Windhoek | 9 - 18 | |
| April 20, 1990 | Portugal | Windhoek | 88 - 18 | |
| January 12, 1989 | Zimbabwe | Harare | 33 - 18 |
Results Summary (as of 8 October 2006)
| Team | Won | Drawn | Lost |
| Persian Gulf | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Argentina | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Australia | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Canada | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Cote de'Ivorie | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Fiji | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| France | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| France XV | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Germany | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ireland | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Italy | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Kenya | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Madagascar | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Morocco | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Portugal | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Romania | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Russia | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Samoa | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| South Africa A | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| South Africa U23 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Tonga | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tunisia | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Uganda | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Uruguay | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Wales | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Zambia | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Zimbabwe | 21 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | 42 | 1 | 33 |