Namibian ambition knows no bounds
It sounds like a cliché being dredged up before every World Cup – a minnow wanting to be competitive and win at least one match.
However, the Namibian class of 2015 truly believe they have a realistic chance of breaking their World Cup drought – because they will take their most powerful team ever to the global showpiece.
Their build-up to the World Cup – with a full-strength squad – starts on Saturday, July 11, when they play the first Test of a two-match series against Russia in Windhoek. Then in August they play in the African Nations Cup against Kenya and Zimbabwe, before they have a training camp with the Springboks in Durban.
They believe this will give them the best possible chance of knocking over a couple of teams when they head to the World Cup in September.
Japan-bound loose forward Renaldo Bothma, in an exclusive interview with rugby365, said they are "very excited" about the run-in to the global showpiece.
"This is the best preparations Namibia have ever had for a World Cup," said Bothma, who joined up with his Namibian teammates in Windhoek at the weekend – after completing his first season of Super Rugby with the Durban-based Sharks.
"The coaching and management staff are all pulling in the same direction," he said, adding: "We want to be competitive in all our World Cup games, but the main goal is to win our first World Cup game.
"If things go well we can get victories against Tonga and Georgia."
He admitted that it is a massive challenge and every player knows what awaits him. However, they are ambitious and have made the mental switch from 'just being competitive' to 'wanting to win'.
"With guys like Jacques Burger [Saracens-based] and Torsten van Jaarsveld [of the Cheetahs] also in the team, it will have a massive influence on the other players.
"It is great to have the guys with a bit more experience – the other players can learn a lot from them."
Bothma and Van Jaarsveld played together at the Nelspruit-based Pumas a few years ago, but Bothma has never played alongside Burger before.
"They are saying this is the best Namibian team in history," Bothma told rugby365.
"There is a lot more effort going into this World Cup campaign. It is a big issue to win a game at the World Cup."
With ball-carrying and defence his primary strengths, Botha will be a key player for the ambitious Namibian team.
"The Namibian guys will rely on us from the outside [foreign-based players] to make the step up," he said, adding: "Hard work awaits the next few months, but I am looking forward to it."
Bothma said he is looking forward to his three-month stint with the Verblitz team in Japan after the World Cup.
"I am privileged to have the opportunity to go play in Japan. I am looking forward to a different experience, a different culture and a different way of playing. I will be able to learn a lot form they way they play," he said adding that he will return to Durban for a second Super Rugby season with the Sharks, before another Currie Cup season with the Pumas in 2016.
Bothma said he has no real expectations of his stint in Japan and is going there with an "open mindset".
"I want to enjoy it – it is a very different culture, with a high work ethic," he said of an environment where players are employed by the company that sponsors the team
Effectively the players work for the sponsor.
They train in the mornings and then work at the companies in the afternoons.
He said after his debut Super Rugby season – where he arrived with no real expectations and ended up playing in all the games – he will go into Super Rugby 2016 with a lot more confidence and experience.
"There will be a lot of new guys in the team, so we are set for a building phase at the Sharks next year," Bothma said.
"We will miss players like Jannie and Bismarck [du Plessis], but it is time for some new talent. The players who come into their places will have huge boots to fill."
By Jan de Koning
@King365ed
@rugby365com
