THE Namibia Rugby Union yesterday announced that it had signed contracts with 19 players with more to follow ahead of a busy rugby season, which includes the Mzansi Challenge, the Africa Cup and the World Cup.
NRU CEO John Heynes said they had managed to sign the contracts with a sponsorship contribution from Namibia Breweries.
"By the Rugby World Cup we will have signed 33 contracts and I think that is a huge achievement that will give our local players an opportunity to represent their country at the world cup," he said.
"We were able to sign agreements with national players who were contracted to other clubs outside of Namibia so now they can come back and stay in Namibia. It gives us a better chance to build depth for the world cup squad and attending the most possible training gives a player a better chance to come in contention for the world cup team," he added.
"We are extremely thankful to our main partner, Windhoek Draught, and value their ongoing support and assistance for us to make revolutionary steps in Namibian rugby," he said.
Heynes said the contracts are confidential, but added that there are five contractual categories, with players moving up and down according to their performances.
"The contracts have different time periods, with some running from January to June, and some from February to September. It all depends on the players' categories and we've also got three different competitions that they will compete in. The whole duration will run from January to September," he said.
The contracts have been individually tailored and include players such as current Welwitschias captain Prince !Gaoseb, Max Katjijeko, Danco Burger, Wicus Jacobs, Johan Luttig, Jason Benade, Andre van der Berg, Justin Newman, Aurelio Plato, Lloyd Jacobs, Thomasau Forbes and Mahepisa Tjeriko.
National coach Allister Coetzee said they appreciated the support form Namibia Breweries a lot.
"I'd like to commend Windhoek Draught for this amazing support that they are giving the NRU in really tough economical conditions. It's not easy, even in South Africa it's tough to get money for sport these days, so honestly we do appreciate it and we value that support. Therefore we can have two players like Max (Katjijeko) and Prince (!Gaoseb) back in the country, they were going to sign with Tel Aviv Heat in Israel, and it would have been awkward to play against our own players when they were still in the Mzansi Challenge competition," he said.
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"This contribution is a step in the right direction and assists players who previously had to spend out of their own pocket on expenses like accommodation and travelling to attend training and represent the team. Although not full-time, we believe that this gesture to players especially from the coast and the north will aid with general living expenses, possible loss of income for players who battle to get leave from their employers and help in achieving a team in full training attendance," he added.
Welwitschias captain !Gaoseb said the contracts will help to strengthen the domestic league.
"It's always good to be home and playing for your country is always an honour and a pleasure. We are trying to keep the players at home so that we can strengthen our domestic league and if we have a stronger domestic league, the stronger our national team will become," he said.
Danie Keulder of Namibia Breweries congratulated the NRU on the progress they had made.
"It is fantastic that the NRU is in a position to offer contracts to their players. This proves that they are moving in the right direction where rugby is becoming an aspirational and premium sport for many Namibians and that ties in very closely with why Windhoek Draught is the main union partner," he said.
The Windhoek Draught Welwitschias, who started their Mzansi Challenge campaign with a narrow 26-21 defeat to the Border Bulldogs last Saturday, will host the SWD Eagles at the Hage Geingob Stadium on Saturday, 1 April.
