PETRI Theron and John Walters will head the Namibia Rugby Union as joint presidents following the NRU’s extraordinary general meeting last weekend.
The meeting followed the resignation en masse of the previous board, headed by Corrie Mensah, with the new appointments due to serve until the next AGM.
Theron and Walters both received five votes from the 10 voting clubs who were fully paid up and in good standing, while nine other clubs did not have voting privileges.
Of these, four clubs paid up but only after the voting process, while two more have not paid up. A further three new clubs were admitted as members, namely Northern Force from Outjo, Okahandja Highlanders, and Vixen Rugby Club from Luderitz.
Theron was proposed by Wanderers and seconded by Vipers Rugby Club, while Walters was proposed by Unam and seconded by Reho Falcon.
Walters is a former vice president of the NRU, having served on the first board after independence, while Theron is a former board member.
The vice presidency will also be shared, with Johan Diergaardt and Wessel Kotze splitting the votes.
Diergaardt was proposed by Unam and seconded by Reho Falcon, while Kotze was proposed by Wanderers and seconded by Vipers.
Christi Windvogel was elected as vice president of governance, after being proposed by Wanderers and seconded by Vipers.
Four regional representatives were also elected with Herman Rust representing Khomas, Apie Oberholzer (Auas), Collin Stevens (Erongo) and JPC Erasmus (North).
The other board members are Ernest Groenewaldt, representing the Namibia Rugby Referees Society, and Ainsley Daniels, representing Namibia Secondary Schools Rugby.
A prominent Namibian rugby supporter, businessman Paul Oosthuizen has also offered his services in marketing and commercial affairs, and has already secured a major coup by organising a match against the Blue Bulls on 4 June, which forms part of Namibia’s preparation and build-up to the Africa Rugby Cup and final qualification for the 2023 World Cup.
NRO CEO John Heynes said they were very thankful for his services.
“Paul walked into my office and offered his services as a goodwill gesture. He is volunteering to assist the NRU to the fullest and is doing it for the love of the game,” Heynes said.
“We had multiple discussions and shared ideas on commercial and marketing strategies. He definitely brings a lot of networking and contacts, so he’s building relationships and developing the brand of the NRU,” he added.
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The Welwitschias, meanwhile will play several matches as they prepare for the Africa Cup, which starts in two French cities, Aix-en-Provence and Marseilles at the end of June.
On the 21st of May there will be an inter-squad match to select the team to play the Blue Bulls in Windhoek on 4 June.
National coach Allister Coetzee will then take the squad on a three-week training camp, during which they will play a further three matches, against Western Province on 11 June, Stellenbosch University, or the ‘Maties’ a week later, and Italy A on 24 June.
The next day they depart for France where they will have another four-day camp before the start of the tournament.
Namibia take on Burkina Faso in the quarterfinals, with the winner due to face the winner between the Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe.
The other quarterfinals are between Senegal and Algeria, and Uganda and Kenya.
The winning nation will qualify for next year’s showpiece, while the runners-up will have a second chance to reach the World Cup via a final four-team round-robin global qualifier to be held in November.
