Namibia Profile

Colours: Sky blue, red and white
Honours: None

Coach: Kiwi Dave Waterston coached Tonga at the 1999 World Cup, but other than that his coaching track-record is limited.

Captain: Corné Powell is a rangy centre who has played in only a handful of Tests since making his debut for Namibia against Italy two years ago. But the 29-year-old Windhoek player is seen as the key playmaker in the Namibian backline.

Player(s) to watch: With four seasons of Super 12 experience behind him, scrum-half Hakkies Hüsselman is undoubtedly one of the cornerstones of a Namibian team. He is a strong competitor and an overall complete scrum-half and controls the game with his good communication and marshalling of his forwards.

Profile: Rugby came in with migrants from South Africa, and in 1916 the Damaraland Rugby Union was founded, the forerunner of the Namibian Rugby Union. 

In 1990 Namibia won two-match series' against Italy and, most spectacularly of all, against Ireland in what has been the high-point of their rugby since they gained their independence from South Africa in the same year.

However, since then rugby has tended to wane as many players sought greater opportunities south of the border in South Africa.

Still, in 1999 and Namibia qualified for the Rugby World Cup in Wales but instead of producing a great upwelling of national fervour and unity of intent, there arose accusations of racism, court orders and restrictions on selection.

Fairly predictably, Namibia suffered three straight defeats in the tournament at the hands of Fiji, Canada and France.

However, they were still strong enough to beat off African oppoisition to qualify for the 2003 RWC under the guidance of New Zealander Dave Waterson who served as an adviser to the late Springbok coach Kitch Christie at the 1995 World Cup and heads up an impressive array of foreigners on the Namibian coaching panel.