Encomiums were showered on the Namibian rugby team following their 80-6 demolition of Zimbabwe during the weekend, which saw them winning the Africa Cup Division 1A trophy in style.

Namibian coach Phil Davies said it was their best performance to date, while Namibia Rugby Union president Bradley Basson said their hard work was paying off.

Namibian captain for the day, Rohan Kitshoff, concurred with Basson, saying that their hard work was paying off.

“The scoreline flattered us a bit and we had to really graft to get the points, but we kept on kicking down the wall and in the last 20 minutes it showed.

We are definitely on an upward curve - we worked a lot on our structures and set-pieces over the past four weeks and it is now starting to pay off,” he said.

Kitshoff commended his team's character.

“The spirit in the group is awesome. I think we are a good group of guys with strong characters and that's what's going to count during the World Cup. That's when the characters are going to be revealed, so it's always good to have a lot of leaders who show good character,” he said.

Namibia's coach Phil Davies said it was their best performance to date.

“I think of all the games we played this was the most accomplished performance we have produced so far, especially in terms of working through our processes. We lacked a bit of patience in the first half but rectified that at half-time and to come out and score 42 points in the second half was really pleasing.”

Davies added that Namibia had made a lot of progress but it was important to keep the momentum going.

“It is important that we progress at the World Cup but it is even more important that we progress after the World Cup and keep the momentum going. It is a real opportunity for Namibia to establish itself as a top rugby playing nation in the next four to five years - we are now in the top 20 and we need to keep on pushing and building,” he said.

The president of the Namibia Rugby Union Bradley Basson said the hard work of the past few weeks was starting to show.

“I think the boys played their hearts out and it clearly shows that the hard work of the past couple of weeks is starting to reap benefits. Our defence is looking better as well as the tactical play and I also thought that Theuns Kotze did some exceptional kicking,” he said.

“There are still some areas that we must work on but we are taking it one step at a time. I'm satisfied, the coaches are showing commitment and I think the spirit on and off the field and amongst the players and management is very high,” he added.

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