Rugby Africa Cup defending champions Namibia trained at Hamz Stadium also known as Nakivubo War Memorial Grounds in preparation of their semi-final clash with Zimbabwe.
The team trained at the newly-refurbished facility on Monday afternoon ahead of their game that will be played tomorrow Wednesday, July 24 at Namboole stadium.
During the intensive morning training session, Namibia captain Danco Burger emphasised the physical challenge posed by their opponents Zimbabwe, but stated his confidence ahead of the game.
“We’re expecting a physical team. They (Zimbabwe) are a very physical team, so we’ll have to step up our game from our match with Burkina Faso. We had a very good session this morning, so I’m very confident,” Burger stated.
He also lauded Hamz Stadium, describing the facility as “world-class” and expressed the team’s honour and privilege to train there.
“I think the facility is world-class, so for us to be able to train here is an honour and privilege,” he added.
Namibia head coach Allister Coetzee echoed Burger’s sentiments, reflecting on their recent performance and the quality of their preparations.
“It’s been a great couple of days. We won the first game and we’re in the semi-finals against Zimbabwe, and that’s a tougher one.”
“But during our training this morning, everything went the way we wanted. It’s been a good build-up and there are no excuses for us not to perform,” Coetzee noted.
Namibia earned their spot in the semi-finals after a commanding 38-05 victory over Burkina Faso on Saturday, July 20.
Their opponents, Zimbabwe, secured their place by narrowly defeating hosts Uganda in a close 22-20 encounter.
The semi-final match is set to kick off at 4 pm and will be broadcast live on NBS Sport.
The training at Hamz Stadium comes after Namibia’s vice president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, visited the facility in January this year.
Nandi-Ndaitwah is reportedly in discussions with the stadium’s proprietor, Hamis Kiggundu, to build a world-class stadium for Namibia, similar to the reconstruction efforts at Hamz Stadium.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, who is the SWAPO party’s candidate in Namibia’s upcoming general elections in November, is most-likely to become the country’s next president.
She became vice president following the death of President Hage Geingob on February 4, 2024, and the subsequent interim presidency of Nangolo Mbumba, who has stated he will not run for president, thus leaving Nandi-Ndaitwah as the ruling party’s flag bearer.
