Tournament regulars hand themselves Rugby World Cup lifeline

Namibia kept their dream of an eighth consecutive Rugby World Cup appearance alive with an 86-29 win over UAE in Kampala, securing their place in November’s Final Qualification Tournament in Dubai.

It was a high-scoring but far from polished performance from Jacques Burger’s men, who crossed 13 times but conceded four tries in a loose and open contest at Mandela National Stadium.

“We make so many mistakes, we let people in – we score, we let them in, we score, let them in,” Burger said post-match. “If we can manage the game better and be a bit more mature in the way we play, it’s going to be tough to beat us.”

Namibia had trailed early after Emosi Vecenaua’s third-minute try for UAE, but responded quickly through Jurgen Meyer and two scores each from Richard Hardwick and Torsten van Jaarsveld. They led 39-22 at the break and accelerated further in the second half as UAE tired.

Despite missing key players injured in last weekend’s Rugby Africa Cup final loss to Zimbabwe, the Welwitschias showed depth and physicality, with Aston Mukwilongo, Danie van der Merwe, Adriaan Ludick and Armand Combrink all adding second-half tries.

Burger praised the effort of his injury-hit squad.

“We lost a lot of players and everybody we called said, ‘yes, we want to be involved’. With a short amount of time together, they came up and put their hand up.”

Namibia now advance to Dubai, where they’ll face opposition from Europe, Asia and the Americas for the final spot at Rugby World Cup 2027.

“We asked for a second shot – we’ve got it,” Burger said. “Now we need to show the character of this team. With our backs against the wall, we’ll fight.”