Danie Vermeulen
Namibia head coach Danie Vermeulen has stepped down from his position less than three months before the team kicks off their World Cup campaign in England, the Namibian Rugby Union confirmed on Friday.
Vermeulen, who has been in charge of the team since 2012, tendered his resignation on Wednesday afternoon and it was accepted by the NRU board at a meeting in Windhoek, Wednesday evening.
His place will now be taken by Phil Davies who was previously the team’s technical advisor.
“We wish to thank Danie for the massive contribution he has made to Namibian Rugby, especially in very difficult times when he saw us promoted from Africa’s 1B division into the A division and last year when he steered the team to victory in the World Cup qualification tournament in Madagascar,” said Bradley Basson, president of the Namibian Rugby Union.
Vermeulen’s resignation also comes just 2 weeks before Namibia start their international series against Russia at home. Basson said Vermeulen’s resignation would not affect Namibia’s preparations as a strong and experienced coaching structure was in place.
“While the players will miss Danie’s input and experience, we are confident that our campaign is on track. Last year we appointed Davies as technical Advisor and he will now take over the role as head coach. Phil and the rest of the coaching staff have been with the team since October last year and we are confident in their ability to adequately prepare the Namibian team for the task ahead,“ said Basson.
Basson said that an announcement of the new backline coach will be made within the next couple of days. Namibia play Russia in Windhoek in 2 Test matches on 11 and 18 July respectively.
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