The meeting between RWC 2015-bound Namibia and hosts Romania will be the highlight of day two at the World Rugby Nations Cup in Bucharest on Wednesday, with both using the tournament to sharpen their play before England 2015.

While Romania have played in every Rugby World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1997, Namibia have only featured since 1999, when they topped the qualifying process in Africa zone for the first time.

Their presence at RWC 2015 though is a minor miracle, performed on the turf of the Mahamasina Stadium in the centre of Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar a year ago.

Defeated 29-22 by an abrasive Kenyan team in the opening match of Africa Cup Division 1A event – the final stage of the African regional process – last June, and with Zimbabwe leading 20-10 at half-time a few days later, Namibia seemed all but out of contention for England 2015.

There was one man, though, who kept faith in the ability of his players to deliver and remained cool under the enormous stress. Namibia coach Danie Vermeulen made several changes to his starting line-up, bringing on his most experienced forward Tinus du Plessis as well as powerful scrum-half  Eneill Buitendag, the son of Namibian rugby legend Basie Buitendag.

The Namibian pack moved into top gear, with Buitendag’s accurate and speedy passing doing the rest. Captained by PJ van Lill, who will lead them out Romania, they defended their line like men possessed, denying Zimbabwe any opportunity to extend their lead, while scoring two converted tries for a final score of 24-20.

The perfect script

“We were not through yet, but I felt that we had got a good chance, we were still in contention, simply because both finalists needed bonus points to win the tournament outright,” Vermeulen said.

“I told the boys that we could get through though, if neither Kenya nor Zimbabwe get bonus points, and I still remember watching in disbelief as Zimbabwe, having scored already three tries opted for a kick at goal in the closing stages, when what they needed was another try to qualify for England 2015. 

“I realised that the perfect script had materialised for us, which meant no bonus point for either team. However, we still had to score 53 or more points against Madagascar to qualify, which was a pretty big task. But I did not say anything anymore and let David Philander, who captained the team, to do the talking.

“It was an absolute rugby hurricane. In the first half Namibia played fantastic rugby and eventually we won 89-10. It was a huge team effort and the players took responsibility for the match showing what they were made of. I think this was the best rugby I have ever seen them playing.” 

For Vermeulen this was a timely reward for all the hard work, the passion and loyalty he had shown to the game, to his country and to his players. The next stage of the project is RWC 2015 itself, which he is targeting with calm and unemotional determination.

For him the World Rugby Nations Cup is a means to an end, a building block in a bigger event he can see on the horizon.

“The Nations Cup is a stepping stone towards our main objective, which is RWC 2015,” he admitted. “We want to win at least one RWC match, which would be a first ever for Namibia, and for some of us would be as big as winning the RWC itself.

“We train three times a day to build up team cohesion and evolve a team spirit and pattern. This is because probably more than half of our players are amateurs, who do not have the time to train as often and as intense as the professionals do.

Eventful life

“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.”

Though only 39 Vermeulen is an experienced coach, having crammed a lot into his eventful life. At the age of 20 he made his international debut against Zimbabwe as a loose-head prop and two years and three caps later, he was asked by Andre Markgraaff to join the Griquas at the end of the 1998 tour of Namibia.

With Markgraaff as coach he played for Griqualand in the 1998 Currie Cup and represented the Cats in eight Super 12 matches, before he joined Dax in France for one season. The fact that he did not get selected for RWC 1999 tells a lot about the haphazard nature of selection for the Namibian national team.

In August 2000 he was badly injured in a car crash, which left him paralysed and in a wheelchair. The following year at the age of 25 he started coaching the forwards of the Windhoek United club at the request of his former Namibia teammate and current NRU CEO Sybrand de Beer.

In 2002 he took over the main coaching job and United won the titles for both the first and second divisions, and prevailed again in 2003. In 2004 Vermeulen was appointed national coach and with him at the helm Namibia won the Africa Cup for the first time.

The ‘reward’ was somewhat unexpected. The coaching staff were dismissed and asked to re-apply for their jobs by the new NRU President. Vermeulen refused to re-apply for his old job and returned to his club United. After the disappointing RWC 2011 campaign the entire NRU management resigned and Vermeulen was approached by the interim Chairman Danie Strauss in 2012 and asked to take over the national team again.

In 2013 he invited all Namibian professionals to his home in Windhoek to explain his plans for the future and request their support for his project, which had RWC 2015 at its main objective. There is a strong bond between the young coach and his players, some of whom began their international career during his brief stint at the helm in 2004.

Time to deliver

“Winning a match in the 2015 RWC is our main objective. Many of our players went on playing with this dream in mind, tournament after tournament. The time has come to deliver.

“Generally in our sport players retire on their own terms. I have not had that opportunity. For us, a win in the 2015 RWC is mission accomplished. Anything else is a bonus.

“After the Nations Cup we go back to Windhoek for the two Russian tests, after which we play Kenya and Zimbabwe in the Africa Cup. The final act of our RWC build-up will be a joint camp with the Springboks at the end of August, which will be very useful.

“I’m very proud of the team and there is still a big improvement to come from this group. We are still lacking a few players and, hopefully, we can get them released from their provinces. There are quite a few good players in South Africa who are absolutely eligible for us, including two currently starting for their teams in the Super 15 and one in the Currie Cup.

“We hope to convince them that Namibia is a good option and our guaranteed World Cup slot should help that process. At the same time they will always have to earn their place. We have a tight committed squad here and nobody will just walk in.

“The preparation for that first game against New Zealand at Olympic Park starts now I suppose. We are not overawed, that is not our mentality. We might only have 1,500 senior rugby players but we’re a proud nation. It’s another huge challenge but we’ll meet it head on as we always do.