Namibians wear white armbands

Player protest

In the final of the Confederation of African Rugby's Top Ten competition in Windhoek, the Namibian players wore white armbands in protest against their treatment by the Namibian Rugby Union, in particular the union's president Dirk Conradie.

Despite their protest the team played with great spirit and determination to beat Morocco 39-22.

The players' requests are threefold:

1. that the ;players be granted a forum in which they can discuss their problems with the union. "Our written requests to the union in this respect have been simply ignored till now," one of the players said to Die Republikein;

2. that a forensic audit be undertaken to solve questions on the Union's financial matters, as the questions raised at the annual general meeting have remained unanswered. The players were prepared to contribute financially to see that the audit is undertaken. The player said: "Big money is involved in rugby and the cloud hanging over the Union's money matters must be sorted out once and for all."

3. That Dirk Conradie resign and never again be involved in Namibian rugby.

The idea of wearing the white armbands was discussed with each individual player. If one had been opposed tot he the idea they would not have been worn. The decision to wear them was taken unanimously, a spokesman is reported to have said.

The spokesman went on to say: This shows that the decision was not motivated by racism but by concern for the future of Zambian rugby for all groups.

The whole national squad and more and more club players have joined the Namibian Rugby Players Association (Narpa), which was formed recently.

The players are reported to be bitterly disappointed with the treatment they receive from the Union.

The spokesman said: "Make no error, we are all exceptionally proud to play for Namibia, but if the public were aware of what goes on behind the screens they would understand why we are insisting on the meeting. We even have the impression that there are some people in the Union who try to put the [coaches] Danie and Gielie Vermeulen in a bad light so that they can get rid of them

"The players are left to their own devices. Frikkie Jordaan is the only executive member who goes out of his way and tries to put right the jobs other people have left undone.

"The team manager was virtually absent for a fortnight before the final and there would have been chaos but for Danie Vermeulen and his wife Wendy.

"When Kees Lensing and Johannes Theron joined the squad they were not given the same outfits as the rest of the team but instead of providing them with gear they were told that they could wear something else. Honestly, a high school team has more pride than that.

"Till late last week there were not 22 pairs of shorts or 22 ;pairs of socks available. And the match should have been played a month ago.

"Such irritations build up and grow in importance. It is intolerable to go on without sponsors or help from a community which has not faith in the Union, in our opinion because of just pone person."

Earlier this year the Springboks wore white armbands when they played against the Pacific Islanders again to draw SA Rugby's attention to their needs.