WINDHOEK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Namibia Rugby head coach Phil Davies announced Tuesday that he has secured the services of his best players for the upcoming Gold Cup campaign, which will kick off here on June 16.
Namibia's first test is against the "Cranes" of Uganda followed by a game against Tunisia on June 23 in Windhoek as well.
Davies in a statement said the Namibian squad is well-balanced between experience and youth and he is excited about his team's chances of clinching their sixth consecutive Rugby Africa title.
"We believe that home-based Namibian players provide the heartbeat of the national team, therefore we have implemented a plan in our national academy to increase the number of quality home-based players participating in the Super Sport Rugby Challenge and the Currie Cup competitions has been a huge help in this development," he added.
Davies believes that this round of rugby will be Namibia's toughest World Cup qualifying group of matches in the past ten years.
"Despite the hefty challenge we are confident that we have developed and assembled a very strong squad with the relevant talent, mental strength and depth to meet those challenges," Davies said.
Namibia's first away game will be against Morocco on June 30 followed by the Zimbabwe game set for Bulawayo on August 4. Their final game will be against Kenya in Windhoek on August 18.
The tournament gathers the six best teams of all African Rugby Unions. The 2018 edition of the Rugby Africa Gold Cup will be played in a league format with 15 home or away matches.
