WINDHOEK - Namibia’s Under/19 rugby squad yesterday left for Harare, Zimbabwe where they will compete in a week-long Confederation of African Rugby (CAR) U/19 tournament, which kicks off this Saturday at the Prince Edward School Stadium.

Namibia have selected a young formidable squad, which consist of a few promising young players led by Deslee Beukes, Romario Feris, Curtly Murorua, Petrus Pretorius and Immo Dresselhaus, among other talented stars included in the entourage.

Namibia will open their assault with a crucial tie against Tunisia on Saturday, before taking on the unpredictable Kenyans on Wednesday for their second match.

Namibia, who are last year’s runners-up after losing in the final to Zimbabwe for the third consecutive time, are determined to break the jinx this time around and hope to represent the continent at the elusive Junior World Cup to be hosted by Chile next year.

“The boys are ready and we are positive of fruitful results – their level of fitness is very impressive and I just hope they put that to good use once the games start,” said Namibia Rugby Union president Bradley Basson. Meanwhile, it was however reported that Uganda had withdraw from the tournament at the last minute due to financial constrains within their sports fraternity.

It is further alleged that it’s not the first time Uganda Rugby Union is withdrawing a side from a regional competition after their senior side failed to take part in the Victoria Cup last year that also featured prominent countries like Zimbabwe and Kenya.

However, CAR saw it fit that Uganda should be replaced by a selected team from Zimbabwe to make sure that Pool B remains with an even number of four teams.

Pool A consists of Namibia, Tunisia, Kenya and hosts Zimbabwe, while Pool B now has the Zimbabwean selected team, Zambia, Kenya and Namibia.