The Namibia national rugby union team (nicknamed the Welwitschias) represents Namibia in men's international rugby union competitions. They are a tier-two nation in the World Rugby tier system, and have participated in seven Rugby World Cup competitions since their first appearance in 1999. They are governed by the Namibia Rugby Union.
Namibia has been playing international rugby since the early 1900s. As well as having competed at the World Cup, Namibia competes annually in the Africa Cup. Until independence, players for Namibia were also eligible to represent South Africa, with Namibian-born Springboks including Jan Ellis.
History 1990s Rugby union has been played in Namibia since 1916 when it was introduced by soldiers from South Africa who had invaded the German-run colony.
Before Namibia gained its independence in 1990, the team, as South West Africa, played in South Africa's domestic club competition, the Currie Cup. The team achieved their best result in the 1988 season, where they finished third.
The Namibia Rugby Union was formed in March 1990, and it joined the International Rugby Board in the same month. Independence came too late for Namibia to qualify for the 1991 Rugby World Cup. Hardened by regular, tough competition in the Currie Cup, the first few years of Namibian rugby union were relatively successful, their highest point being 2–0 home series victories over Ireland and Italy in 1991. That year the Welwitschias won all 10 of their Tests, the others being five victories against Zimbabwe and one against Portugal in Lisbon. One of Namibia's players, Andre Stoop was signed by English champion rugby league club, Wigan.
During the international seasons Namibia played six games; the first of which was a 55–23 win over Zimbabwe. Following another victory over Zimbabwe, in 1993 Namibia played Wales in Windhoek, losing 38–23. Namibia completed big victories over the Arabian Gulf rugby team, Kenya and Zimbabwe in the initial rounds of 1995 Rugby World Cup qualifying.
Russia toured Namibia in 1994, defeating the home team 31–12 in Windhoek. Although Namibia defeated Zimbabwe that year, the team lost to Côte d'Ivoire and drew with Morocco (all in Casablanca). In 1996 Namibia played two matches; losing 15–13 to Zimbabwe, and then defeating them by one point in a subsequent meeting. They played two games in 1997 as well, losing to Tonga and Zimbabwe.
During 1998 Namibia took part in the African tournaments for 1999 Rugby World Cup qualification. They started out in Round 3, where they finished second in the pool behind Zimbabwe on points difference (defeating Zimbabwe but losing to Tunisia). Namibia defeated Côte d'Ivoire, Morocco and Zimbabwe to qualify for the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
The team's participation was put in doubt when the Namibian government's Sports Commission barred the team from participating in a South African competition it had been using as preparation, and threatened to stop the team from taking part in the World Cup. This followed criticisms from non-white rugby clubs that the Namibian Rugby Union displayed racist attitudes. Ultimately, however, the team were allowed to take part.
The 1999 World Cup marked their debut at the tournament and since then they have been Africa's second representative alongside South Africa. While they suffered heavy defeats by France, Fiji and Canada, they took pride in scoring an early try and being level with France after 20 minutes.
2000–present
With a small player base, and lacking frequent or strong competition, the team has deteriorated in the 21st century. Their record in the World Cups has been poor as they have not yet managed a win. Their record defeat, 142–0 against Australia in the 2003 tournament, led to some questioning the presence of the minor teams at the tournament.
Namibia initially struggled in the qualifiers for the 2007 tournament, suffering a shock defeat to Kenya, their first ever to the African Great Lakes nation, and another to Tunisia. Following the Kenya loss, the Namibian squad slumped to 28th in the IRB rankings. However, after defeating Tunisia at home, the team was effectively through to two deciding matches against Morocco, to determine which of the two African nations would make it to France in 2007. Namibia convincingly won both legs, qualifying for the World Cup.
As the lowest ranked team at the start of the 2007 World Cup, Namibia was given no chance in its opening game of against Ireland. However, the Namibian squad frustrated Ireland, then the 5th ranked team in the world, and scored two tries for its narrowest World Cup loss of 32–17. They were convincingly beaten in their games with Argentina (63–3) and France (87–10). And, in the game in which they were seen as having the best chance to win, they suffered a disappointing 30–0 loss to Georgia, to end the tournament winless.
The African side was able to win the IRB Nations Cup in 2010.
Namibia achieved their fourth World Cup qualification in a row after defeating Côte d'Ivoire in 2011. They were drawn into Pool D, with South Africa, Wales, Fiji and Samoa. Their first match in the Rugby World Cup held in New Zealand (at the Rotorua International Stadium) resulted in a defeat by Fiji by 45–29. Their second match in this tournament was a 49–12 loss to Samoa but the third was an 87–0 loss to South Africa. In their final pool game, Wales proved to be too strong, as Namibia conceded 12 tries in an 81–7 defeat. Theuns Kotzé provided his side's one consolation, as his conversion of a Heinz Koll try made him Namibia's all-time highest Rugby World Cup points scorer.
The Welwitschias played the 2015 Vodacom Cup, collecting six defeats and one win against the Limpopo Blue Bulls. Namibia qualified for their fourth Rugby World Cup in 2015. They were placed in Pool C with New Zealand, Georgia, Tonga and Argentina. They managed to lose to Georgia by a single point (17–16), their best result ever and winning their first bonus point at the competition.
They qualified for the 2019 Rugby World Cup for the sixth time by winning the Rugby Africa Gold Cup and joined pool B along with South Africa, New Zealand, Italy and Canada. The team lost to New Zealand, South Africa and Italy, while the match versus Canada was cancelled because of Typhoon Hagibis.
Wins against Tier 1 nations
South West Africa Record vs Touring Teams Before independence Namibia played as South West Africa and played touring teams who toured South Africa.Stats
Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn Win % For Aga Diff 3 0 2 1 0.00% 28 71 −43 4 0 4 0 0.00% 22 69 —47 2 1 1 0 50.00% 66 48 +18 2 0 1 1 0.00% 19 48 —29 2 0 2 0 0.00% 3 43 −40 1 1 0 0 100.00% 110 0 +110 1 1 0 0 100.00% 38 22 +16 6 1 5 0 16.67% 58 136 −78 Total 21 4 15 2 % 344 437 −93 DateScoreTouring TeamVenue5 July 19550–9Mabel Vlok Park, Windhoek11 July 19593–19Otjiwarongo8 July 19603–27South West Stadium, Windhoek27 July 196114–14South West Stadium, Windhoek12 June 19626–14South West Stadium, Windhoek31 July 19636–24South West Stadium, Windhoek13 June 196415–6South West Stadium, Windhoek13 March 19663–19Hartsfield Stadium, Bulawayo15 June 19680–23South West Stadium, Windhoek21 September 19688–34South West Stadium, Windhoek1 September 19698–33South West Stadium, Windhoek4 July 19700–16South West Stadium, Windhoek8 June 19716–35South West Stadium, Windhoek18 May 197416–23South West Stadium, Windhoek17 June 197513–13South West Stadium, Windhoek7 May 197715–22South West Stadium, Windhoek29 October 198330–33Santiago5 November 198338–22Montevideo24 October 198836–15Santiago3 November 1988110–0Asunción
Overall record
Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Namibia national XV at test level up until 28 June 2026, updated after match with ..Namibia rugby statistics
Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn Win % For Aga Diff 1 1 0 0 % 21 7 +14 Arabian Gulf 1 1 0 0 % 64 20 +44 3 0 3 0 0% 36 194 −158 1 0 1 0 0% 27 34 −7 1 0 1 0 0% 0 142 −142 1 0 1 0 0% 15 22 −7 1 1 0 0 % 40 31 +9 2 2 0 0 % 109 10 +99 3 1 2 0 % 67 126 —59 1 1 0 0 % 28 26 +2 2 0 2 0 0% 43 116 −73 3 0 3 0 0% 23 230 —207 2 0 2 0 0% 36 49 —13 5 1 4 0 % 73 112 —39 2 2 0 0 % 137 33 +104 1 1 0 0 % 22 12 +10 4 2 2 0 % 65 117 −52 6 2 4 0 % 110 247 —137 1 0 1 0 0% 21 43 —22 6 2 3 1 % 127 98 +29 13 11 2 0 % 642 252 +390 5 4 1 0 % 362 94 +268 8 5 2 1 % 196 144 +52 3 0 3 0 0% 26 200 −174 9 6 3 0 % 280 185 +95 6 1 5 0 % 66 158 −92 7 2 5 0 % 141 183 −42 3 0 3 0 0% 33 115 —82 5 5 0 0 % 218 57 +161 3 0 3 0 0% 16 249 —233 7 2 5 0 % 134 174 —40 2 0 2 0 0% 35 55 −20 11 8 3 0 % 368 159 +209 6 5 1 0 % 266 113 +153 1 1 0 0 % 86 29 +57 6 1 5 0 % 156 204 −48 4 0 4 0 0% 69 171 −102 1 1 0 0 % 54 7 +47 3 3 0 0 % 203 32 +171 35 30 5 0 % 1,277 737 +540 Total 185 102 81 2 % 5,692 4,987 +705
Players Current squad On 28 October, Namibia named a 30-player squad ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup Final Qualification Tournament.Free Jacks star Malan ruled out of Namibia squad for Repechage
Head Coach: Pieter Rossouw Caps Updated: 13 November 2025 (after Samoa v Namibia)
Individual all-time records Most caps
# Player Pos Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop Won Lost Draw Win % 1 Eugene Jantjies Scrum-half 2006–2019 70 46 24 72 3 15 8 1 35 34 1 50.71 2 PJ van Lill Flanker 2006–2023 63 39 24 40 8 0 0 0 31 31 1 50.00 3 Chrysander Botha Fullback 2008–2018 55 53 2 209 28 15 13 0 34 20 1 62.72 4 Tinus du Plessis Flanker 2006–2016 52 44 8 40 8 0 0 0 27 24 1 52.88 5 Darryl de la Harpe Centre 2010–2019 50 39 11 50 10 0 0 0 25 25 0 50.00 6 Johnny Redelinghuys Prop 2006–2015 49 31 18 25 5 0 0 0 22 26 1 45.91 7 JC Greyling Centre 2014–2023 46 38 8 145 29 0 0 0 25 21 0 56.75 Johann Tromp Centre 2012–2021 46 37 9 105 21 0 0 0 26 20 0 55.55 9 Rohan Kitshoff Flanker 2010–2019 45 31 14 110 22 0 0 0 24 21 0 53.33 10 Casper Viviers Prop 2010-2023 42 31 11 5 1 0 0 0 23 19 0 52.50
Last updated: Namibia vs Uruguay, 27 September 2023.
Most tries # Player Pos Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop 1 JC Greyling Centre 2014–2023 46 38 8 145 29 0 0 0 2 Chrysander Botha Fullback 2008–2018 55 53 2 209 28 15 13 0 3 Gerhard Mans Wing 1990–1994 27 26 1 114 26 0 0 0 4 Rohan Kitshoff Flanker 2010–2019 45 31 14 110 22 0 0 0 Eden Meyer Wing 1991–1996 21 20 1 102 22 0 0 0 6 Johann Tromp Centre 2012–2021 46 37 9 105 21 0 0 0 7 Wian Conradie Flanker 2015–present 30 25 5 90 14 0 0 0 8 Melrick Afrika Wing 2003–2007 23 18 5 62 12 1 0 0 Johan Deysel Centre 2013–2023 38 36 2 60 12 0 0 0 Louis van der Westhuizen Hooker 2013–present 31 15 16 60 12 0 0 0
Last updated: Namibia vs Uruguay, 27 September 2023.
Most points # Player Pos Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop 1 Theuns Kotzé Fly-half 2011–2017 40 35 5 430 6 110 55 5 2 Jaco Coetzee Fly-half 1990–1995 28 27 1 335 6 81 45 3 3 Cliven Loubser Fly-half 2017–present 25 23 2 218 5 65 21 0 4 Chrysander Botha Fullback 2008–2018 55 53 2 209 28 15 13 0 5 Mot Schreuder Fly-half 2002–2007 19 17 2 158 4 42 18 0 6 JC Greyling Centre 2014–2023 46 38 8 145 29 0 0 0 7 Rudie van Vuuren Fly-half 1997–2003 15 10 5 120 3 27 17 0 8 Gerhard Mans Wing 1990–1994 27 26 1 114 26 0 0 0 9 Rohan Kitshoff Flanker 2010–2019 45 31 14 110 22 0 0 0 10 Eden Meyer Wing 1991–1996 21 20 1 102 22 0 0 0
Most points in a match # Player Pos Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop Opposition Venue Date 1 Justinus van der Westhuizen Fly-half 33 3 9 0 0 Windhoek 26/05/2007 2 Jaco Coetzee Fly-half 30 3 6 1 0 Nairobi 07/07/1993 3 Chrysander Botha Fullback 29 2 5 3 0 Windhoek 27/06/2009 4 Moolman Olivier Fly-half 26 1 11 0 0 Windhoek 21/04/1990 Cliven Loubser Fly-half 26 2 8 0 0 Casablanca 30/06/2018 6 Riaan van Wyk Wing 25 5 0 0 0 Windhoek 15/06/2002 Theuns Kotzé Fly-half 25 1 4 4 0 Windhoek 18/07/2015 8 Gerhard Mans Wing 24 6 0 0 0 Windhoek 21/04/1990 Mot Schreuder Fly-half 24 0 12 0 0 Windhoek 27/05/2006 Theuns Kotzé Fly-half 24 0 12 0 0 Windhoek 06/07/2014
Most tries in a match