Namibia outclass Morocco in Gold Cup

Namibia continued their march towards a spot in 2019 Rugby World Cup by defeating Morocco 63-7 in Casablanca on Saturday. It was a one-sided affair with the visitors vastly superior to their opponents in every category. The score might have been greater had the referee not called an end to the match early, evidently choosing not to stop the clock at any point in the second half despite several lengthy stoppages for injuries and a red card decision.

From the start is was clear that Namibia were playing on another level. Aranos Coetzee somehow went over untouched from directly in front of the posts and PJ van Lill managed to step the fullback on a line break that saw the 34-year-old race clear from halfway.

Janco Venter’s first try of the match was almost as easy with a step and a fend enough to put him over. It still left enough time for Justin Newman to touch down twice before the break.

The second half was scattered and disorderly. A bizarre sequence began at the 45 minute mark when Bilal Dikhal committed a terrible tackle on Ruan Ludick that saw the towering Namibia lock flying head over heels. Dikhal was summarily dismissed, and captain Hocine Arabat limped off to allow a front row replacement on.

With Morocco down to only seven forwards for the remainder a penalty try followed at the resulting scrum – some four minutes after the card had been awarded. As Namibia turned to prepare for the restart, the Moroccans sprinted back to halfway and took the kick quickly, with Karim Qadiri the first to the ball to score a dubious try. The protests fell on deaf ears as the referee awarded the score which should clearly have been disallowed.

Undeterred by the pandemonium, Namibia went back to business. Cliven Loubser was in sublime form all day with the boot, a perfect eight-from-eight off the tee, many from wide angles in very windy conditions. He would score two tries himself for a personal tally of 26 points while Venter grabbed a double, regathering Loubser’s long kick ahead.

Now sporting a record of three wins from three, Namibia will close out their Gold Cup against their most difficult opponents. Their next match will be against Zimbabwe on August 4. Should they defeat the Sables as expected, they will play against Kenya on August 18 in Windhoek to decide who will advance directly to the World Cup, and who will enter the Repechage tournament in November.

 

SCORING

MOROCCO 7
Tries – K. Qadiri (50’)
Cons – C. Hmidouche 1/1 (51’)
Red cards – B. Dikhal (45’)

NAMIBIA 63
Tries – A. Coetzee (7’), P. van Lill (11’), J. Venter 2 (20’, 72’), J. Newman 2 (31’, 38’), Penalty try (49’), C. Loubser 2 (54’, 79’)
Cons – C. Loubser 8/8 (7’, 12’, 21’, 32’, 39’, 55’, 73’, 80’)

 

TEAMS

MOROCCO
1 Mehdi Ahaouche, 2 Abdel Abachri (16 Mehdi Benyachou 45’-68’) (19 Mounaim Bachar 72’), 3 Bilal Dikhal, 4 Mohammed Lahlali (18 Adil Nifeur 65’), 5 Jawad Gueddouri (23 Marouane El Arrouchi 56’), 6 Abid Mohamed, 7 Samir Janoui, 8 Hocine Arabat (capt.) (17 Mouchine Ouali 45’), 9 Ismail Nassik (20 Chouaib Hannouf 65′), 10 Bryan Brichet (21 Chakir Hmidouche HT), 11 Fahd Rguibi Idrissi (22 Younes Hou 65’), 12 Amin Kemmas, 13 Samir Thavenot, 14 Karim Qadiri, 15 Morad Jadiri

NAMIBIA
1 Casper Viviers (18 Desiderius Sethie 73’), 2 Louis van der Westhuizen, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 4 Ruan Ludick (20 Mahepisa Tjeriko 45’ {19 Max Katjijeko 53’}), 5 Tjiuee Uanivi, 6 Rohan Kitshoff, 7 Janco Venter, 8 PJ van Lill (21 Wian Conradie HT), 9 Eugene Jantjies (22 Damian Stevens 56’), 10 Cliven Loubser, 11 Justin Newman, 12 Darryl de la Harpe, 13 Johan Deysel (capt.), 14 Lesley Klim, 15 Chrysander Botha (23 PW Steenkamp 73’)

Not used: 16 Obert Nortjé, 17 Nelius Theron

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Adrien Descottes (FFR)
Assistants: Sylvain Mane (FSR) & Heykel Bahroun (TRF)