Basson elected NRU president

06/03/2012

Rugby in Namibia took the first steps towards normalisation on Saturday when Bradley Basson was elected unopposed as the president of the Namibia Rugby Union at its annual general meeting in Windhoek.

Danie Strauss, who headed the interim committee, following the resignation of the previous executive committee, was also elected unopposed as the vice president.

A new executive committee was also elected which includes members of Namibia’s regions, the Namibia Senior Schools Rugby Association, the Tertiary Institutes Sports Association of Namibia and the Namibia Rugby Referees Society.

The new executive committee of the Namibia Rugby Union is as follows:
Bradley Basson (president), Danie Strauss (vice president), Pieter Fick, Zane Jansen, Fanie van Zyl, Thomas Mbeeli, Wacca Kazombiaze, Werner Jeffrey, John Lucas, David van Kradenburg and Jacky Husselmann.

The AGM saw a high turnout of members from the various clubs and regions as well as representatives of the International Rugby Board and the Confederation of African Rugby. Stef Nel represented the IRB and Cliffie Booysen represented the Confederation of African Rugby, while Dawie Groenewald of the South African Rugby Union was also present.

Basson said it was important to restore faith in Namibian rugby so that sponsors would soon come on board again.

“I think it is important now that we try to restore stakeholder engagement – the faith and the confidence of the stakeholders. It does not only include the government or the IRB, it also includes our corporate sponsors who previously were prepared to hand out money to Namibian rugby, but as a result of what has happened in the past are reluctant to give money now. So we have to make sure that we engage these people technically and strategically in order to make them part with their money again in favour of Rugby Namibia,” he said.

“The South African Rugby Union is very positive about rugby in Namibia. Regarding the IRB and sponsors – they want to see proper structures in place to make sure they are giving assistance and handing out money to a union that is prepared and properly equipped to handle that money,” he said.

Basson said he was optimistic that rugby’s main sponsor MTC would reconfirm its sponsorship.

“It appears that MTC did not completely withdraw from rugby in Namibia. All I gather from reports in the media was that they were saying, get your house in order, then we can talk again. Likewise the IRB, who have taken time today to attend this meeting. They are saying, you have to work twice as hard to show us that we should entrust you with our funding.”

Basson said the policy manual that was compiled during the tenure of the interim committee in conjunction with the clubs, the Namibia Sport Commission, and the IRB would be used to put rugby ‘on the right track’.

“The policy manual should set us on the right track and provide us with proper guidance as to what type of structures we need to have in place. Structures should be implemented in order to keep proper control of financial affairs,” he said.

“We’ve got to be very stern about implementing these policies and implementing the controls that are necessary to safeguard the future of rugby in Namibia. Those aspects on implementing the controls are going to be vital with regard to whether sponsors will give us money or whether the IRB is going to continue their grant to Namibia,” he added.

Basson said the new rugby season would start soon and therefore it was imperative to appoint a new national coach as soon as possible.

“We have to sign a new coach as a matter of urgency because Namibia has to compete shortly in the Confederation of Rugby Cup tournament. We will compete against Madagascar early in July. We will hold national trials on March 24 while we have also started to engage in conversations with people that we consider to be eligible for the coaching position in the interim,” he said.

Basson said the new coach would have to do it ‘for the love of the game’ and could not expect a big salary.

“People must also keep in mind that we will not be offering ridiculous contracts, or any contracts at the moment. We are cash strapped and as such we are relying on people to plough back into rugby in Namibia for the love of the game. So the coaches that will assist us must at some stage be prepared to do it for the love of the game. I believe they are their somewhere outside, we just have to engage them.”

Basson said Namibia’s continued participation in the South African Vodacom Cup competition was high on their list of priorities, but that they would compete under a franchise name in the future.

“We are meeting with possible franchises to make sure that Namibian rugby competes in the Vodacom Cup. In future we are planning to compete as a franchise in the Vodacom Cup and not as the national rugby team, because it does not sound nice if you hear Namibia has lost 65-0 to Pumas for example. They are our national pride so we have to protect them. We are busy talking to people who have come up with a proposal to start a franchise,” he said.

The new vice president of the NRU, Danie Strauss said they had succeeded in unifying Namibian rugby and that they had to ensure that the new board implemented the policies of the policy manual. He said they would elect new coaches soon, for the senior national team as well as the Under 19 national team, and that they would start practising on a regular basis in April, after national trials on March 24.

Strauss said they were still busy finalising the local rugby leagues but that it would start on March 17.