confirmed its participation in the 2015 Vodacom Cup competition.The Vodacom Cup, an annual rugby union tournament contested between February and May every year, is a major rugby event on the African rugby scene.

Confirming the participation of the Namibian Rugby Union and expressing delight at the opportunity to test the team against some of the best around,  Namibian Rugby Union president Bradley Basson hinted that the team was keen make the most of the opportunity ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

‘It is the best thing that could have happened to Namibian rugby in our build-up towards the Rugby World Cup, we have a number of local based players who are not exposed to high level rugby and they will benefit from this,’ Basson said.

Basson also commented that in addition to participating, Namibia could also enjoy a competitive advantage by playing all their games at home, in Windhoek.

‘The other good thing is that South African Rugby Union has convinced teams to play all the games against us in Windhoek, so our players who are all amateurs can continue to do their jobs, train in the mornings and evenings and be ready for the match over the weekend, it will also save the NRU a lot of expenses and at this stage, we really do have to look at our finances as we will need a lot of resources to prepare for the World Cup,’ Basson said.

‘It will help with the players’ conditioning, they will be exposed to high intensity rugby and with eight of these matches, they will be much better prepared for the Tests we plan in June in the CAR competitions as well as the Nations Cup and of course for the World Cup in September,’ Basson further explained.

Namibia’s involvement in the Vodacom Cup is perceived by Namibians as a critical opportunity to stimulate the growth of the sport within the country. Given that a majority of the players will be amateurs, the Vodacom Cup offers Namibia a crucial learning curve ahead of the Rugby World Cup. The officials and team players will be hoping to make the most of the chance to participate in the Vodacom Cup which many believe is down to the strength of the relationship between the Namibian Rugby Union and the South African Rugby Union.

The inaugural edition of the Vodacom Cup was held in 1998 and has been sponsored by Vodacom ever since.