We continue our build up to the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy 2008 in April by turning our attention to Namibia and their Under 20 coach Eden Meyer.
Eden Meyer is under no illusions as to the importance of the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy for the future development of Namibian rugby, knowing that if they can claim the inaugural title in Chile next month then more young players may choose to stay in the African country to study and play the sport.
For if Namibia were to be crowned champions in Santiago on 27 April then they would secure promotion to the IRB Junior World Championship in 2009 and the opportunity to play against the likes of South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, England and France.
The fact that Namibia booked their place in the Junior World Rugby Trophy with a last minute drop goal to beat Zimbabwe 23-20 in the African qualifiers last July was important, given they had missed out on the IRB Under 19 World Championship in 2007.
“It was very important for junior rugby [that we qualified] because most of our boys leave Namibia after school to go to other countries,” explained Meyer, who is also the Rugby Development Officer for the Namibia Rugby Union.
A prime example of this is Frederik Botha, who captained Namibia to victory over Zimbabwe at that Confederation of African Rugby Under 19 tournament in Uganda, but has since gone to South Africa to continue his studies and is therefore not available for the Junior World Rugby Trophy.
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“I plan on winning the tournament in order to be in section A [the IRB Junior World Championship] next year," added Meyer. “We must first win all the games in our pool and from there take it step by step.”
Meyer, who played on the left wing for Namibia between 1986 and 1996 and coached their Sevens team from 2002 to 2004, admits that he doesn’t know anything about their Pool A opponents Chile, Romania and the Cook Islands.
However he insists every single one of the 26 players that make his final squad will all be “competitive” with trials having taken place in November 2007 and then again in January as Meyer looks to build on their performances in the qualifying tournament.
They have been preparing with regular practice camps since December, including a two-week training camp over the border in South Africa at Stellenbosch last month, one which certainly left an impact on two of Namibia’s senior players.
“Preparations for a junior Namibian team have never been so intense,” admitted 18-year-old flanker Janee Karuaihe. “We are receiving help from the South Africa Rugby Union and we are very thankful.”
His back row colleague Thomasau Forbes added: “The preparation helped us a lot because we started bonding as a team and you could see it in the three warm-up games we played and the professional help we received from the South Africa Rugby Union really improved our skill level.”
Only time will tell if this relationship will result in silverware for Namibia.
In the next feature on Namibia discover the tragic loss that is proving a huge motivation for Janee Karuaihe, Thomasau Forbes and their team-mates to be crowned champions.
