Namibia ready to 'tackle' the Boks

Namibian coach Hakkies Husselman accepts that his team is regarded as a pre-World Cup "training run" for the Springboks, when the two sides meet in a first-ever Test at Newlands on Wednesday, but he believes his side has plenty to gain from the experience.

Husselman, who will lean heavily on the players with experience in South Africa's Currie Cup competition when they go up against the Boks, has had to overcome some very testing weather conditions since his team arrived in Cape Town last Thursday.

"It has been very wet and windy," Husselman said. "It is certainly not the kind of conditions that make for good preparations," he added.

However, rather that adopting a defeatist attitude, the Namibian mentor is looking forward to the opportunity to test his team against one of the World Cup favourites.

While they have had to spend a lot of time with gymnasium workouts and some swimming sessions, Husselman said his team also had a good a scrumming session and an opportunity to run through their game plan.

"The general feeling in the camp is very positive and the guys are looking forward to the game on Wednesday," he told this website.

The team, to be captained by burly Sharks prop Kees Lensing (who only joined the side on Saturday, after still playing in the 45-22 Currie Cup win over the Falcons last Friday), will be without Sharks hooker Skipper Badenhorst.

Husselman said he expects Badenhorst to only be released after the Sharks' Round Eight Currie Cup encounter with Griquas on August 18.

However, the side to face the Boks is likely to include all of their other South African-based stars - Griquas loose forward Jacques Burger, Boland pop Jané du Toit, Falcons loose forward Jacques Nieuwenhuis, Border hooker Hugo Horn, Border prop Marius Visser and Boland utility back Piet van Zyl.

Add to that Australian-based fly-half Emile Wessels (playing for the Tuggeranong Vikings in Canberra) and England-based lock Heino Senekal (Cornish Pirates, English Second Division) and it is obvious the Namibian side will have some muscle to fall back on.

"We've got about 10 professional players in our ranks, the rest are [Namibian] locals, players who played club rugby in South Africa [such as Stellenbosch lock Nico Esterhuizen] and players who were involved in the previous World Cup," Husselman said.

Husselman admits that his team is likely to see very little of the ball - only about 30 per cent is the realistic target he has - at Newlands, but that will afford him the opportunity to test some other aspects of his team's game.

With a South African fitness expert at their disposal for the last two months, most of the players have worked hard at improving their general conditioning and strength levels ahead of the World Cup.

"We would like to see where we stand in this regard [strength and conditioning] when you play against a top team like South Africa," Husselman said.

"We would also like to see how our defensive patterns and defensive lines hold up against a class outfit like the Springboks.

"Yes, we know we won't see much of the ball and at the end of the day we'll take it [possession] as it comes and see what we can do.

"The most important aspect [of Wednesday's Test] is for me to see how strong our defence is and I want to see how far we are down the road with fitness and how long we can last against a world class team.

"Obviously, if we do get opportunities we will no doubt attack, it is part of our plan, but the most important aspect is to measure our conditioning, strength and defence against these guys."

Since his arrival in Cape Town last Thursday Husselman has also been able to call on the help of other experts like former Bok assistant coach Alan Solomons, former Springbok prop Robbie Kempson and Gareth Wright - a journeyman fly-half who played for Western Province, the Golden Lions, Griquas, SWD Eagles and Leeds Tykes in England.

Husselman's assistant coach is John Williams, who last year coached the Falcons to Vodacom Cup success.

For now he is looking forward to Wednesday's Newlands outing as a chance to see what stage Namibia are at before heading to France and there targeting their encounter with Georgia as an opportunity to record their first ever World Cup victory.

"We are looking forward to the World Cup and you know it is always nice to be the underdog and to show them this is what we are made off and it is always nice to have a low profile," he said.

Unlike other World Cup coaches - Jake White, Graham Henry, Bernard Laporte and Brian Ashton, who have all been planning and preparing for several years - Husselman does not have the luxury of time.

He has only had a couple of months since he stepped up from the assistant role, following the axing of Johan Venter.

"There will always be a shortage of time, especially for Namibia," he said.

"The time is very short, but we are trying to do the most we can at the moment. The players here are working very well and their fitness levels have improved about 30 percent."

By Jan de Koning 365 Digital