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The hosts of the upcoming IRB Namibia Sevens Tournament have named a squad to incorporate two sides for the event this weekend.

Ettiene Coetzee has been appointed as team manager for the hosts’ sevens team with veteran rugby administrator Christo Alexander as head coach.

Namibia will open their campaign against Tunisia on Friday afternoon, before they take on South Africa later in the day at 4pm.

The finals will be decided on Saturday, while matches for schools on the same circuit will also be held over the two days at the Vegkop Stadium.

Yesterday, tournament director Amos Shiyuka said the competition would provide great excitement for all rugby fans and he hopes that people will turn up in huge numbers to support the Namibian teams.

Shiyuka said Trustco had signed a five-year contract with the IRB to bring the tournament to Namibia each year, with a total sponsorship of N$18 million at the moment.

He added that they anticipate bringing in more sponsors in the future as the tournament grows with an ambitious eye on a future inclusion on the IRB World Sevens Series.

“It’s still premature to speculate on Namibia being given the rights to host one of the legs of the IRB sevens world series – but at this point in time, there’s a strong possibility that the IRB might consider to use this particular tournament as a qualifier for world sevens in the near future,” said South Africa sevens rugby guru Steven Roos.

Roos was flown into the country with the ultimate aim to assist the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) with logistics and all other issues related to sevens rugby – as the NRU is leaving no stone unturned to make this event a success and leave a long lasting mark behind.

Meanwhile, Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) chief executive Sakkie Mouton said the union realised that in order to meet its development goals, it had to provide the players with an opportunity to compete at international level.

"In the months following we arranged various opportunities for such developments to happen. These include a visit to Argentina, a very successful visit by the Springbok invitational team and various events at school and under-19 level," he said.

Mouton added that the Namibian rugby fans have come a long way in supporting the game, adding that they have been the biggest motivator for development of the sport and the restructuring of the NRTU's operations.

"The Trustco Sevens brings a selection of formidable teams to Namibia and an opportunity for us all to enjoy the great skill and fast pace of the international sevens game", he said.

Namibia Squad:
Yoshiro Claasen, Brendon Walters, Dwayne Henkert, Desmond Haihambo, Howard Titus, Attie du Plessis, David Philander, Heini Bock, Gregory Stein, John Drotsky, Julien Botes, Shaun Kazembi, Greyling Koopman, Bradley Langenhoven, Ridney Bezuidenhout, TC Losper, Llewellyn Feris, Hilton Neetling, Antony Brandt and Jacky Bock.