Once his contract with the Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) comes full circle after the 2023 World Cup, Welwitschias’ gaffer Allister Coetzee would like to see a local coach hold the reins and for the premier league to be one of the best in Africa.

At a recent meet-and-greet with the local media, Coetzee – a South African national – unpacked his medium and long-term plans that will help the country realise her developmental goals.

Apart from aiming to guide the Welwitschias to their seventh Rugby World Cup appearance, Coetzee said his legacy programme includes working closely and sharing his expertise with local players and coaches, with the ultimate objective of making sure they are well positioned and ready to further propel local rugby to greater heights.

“The upskilling of coaches is very important; they must get training and coaching certificates. I will make sure that is achieved through my legacy programme for Namibian rugby. I want to create a pathway for such development of Namibian coaches,” said Coetzee, who was appointed as senior national team head coach in June this year.

Another top priority for him is the strengthening of systems and processes in the local rugby premier league, which he wants to see become one of the best and competitive leagues on the continent.

“We want to make sure our rugby premier league becomes as competitive as possible. By doing that, it also means we would have better referees, and so forth. The idea is to have a strong league with top and well-conditioned players who will always be fit when representing the national team. It is important to have players coming from a good sort of conditioning phase.”

Namibia is scheduled to play Burkina Faso in November next year in the Africa Cup quarterfinals, which are part of qualifying tournaments for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. 

- mkambukwe@nepc.com.na