Coetzee heaps praises on his team
New Namibia rugby head coach Allister Coetzee has praised his players, saying the current squad can go far.
Speaking to Nampa after defeating Madagascar 52-10 in the second match of the Rugby Africa Cup Pool A qualifiers on Wednesday, Coetzee said his team is destined for great things.
“Firstly, the players responded well to the challenge under huge pressure. We wanted the win and were desperate to stay alive in the qualifiers. Then, playing together for the second time, we had better cohesion as a team,” he said.
Namibia’s Welwitschias had previously lost 13-24 to Ivory
Coast, and that jeopardised their chances of qualifying for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Coetzee added that after losing to Ivory Coast, the plan was simplified, and it led to better execution and converting the pressure into points.
The former Springboks coach said playing with the wind in the first half helped to build the scoreboard pressure, which gave his team confidence.
Coetzee, who is also a former Stormers and Eastern Province coach, said as a team, they had understood the Madagascar
mentality and way of playing, and had shut their attacking threats down with good defence.
He paid tribute to his bench, whom he said had done a great job when called into action in difficult conditions in Ivory Coast.
Namibia topped the log with five points, followed by hosts Ivory Coast with four, and Madagascar on zero.
The Welwitschias thus qualified for the Rugby Africa Cup 2022 (Top 8), which will serve as the final Rugby World Cup 2023 qualification event.
Coetzee was appointed in June to lead Namibia to the 2023 Rugby World Cup scheduled for France.
His other goal is to ensure that Namibia wins its first-ever match at the World Cup after five previous attempts.