Namibia booked their place in the Rugby Africa Cup final after a hard-fought 21-7 victory over Algeria in the first semifinal at Namboole Stadium in Kampala.
The Namibians will now face the winner of the second semifinal between Kenya Simbas and defending champions Zimbabwe.
Namibia arrived in the semifinals after a commanding 55-17 win over Senegal. Algeria, meanwhile, reached this stage by dispatching Ivory Coast 41-6 in a dominant quarterfinal performance.
Namibia opened the scoring in the 14th minute through a penalty successfully converted by Cliven Loubser for an early 3-0 lead.
Algeria responded swiftly just three minutes later. Mohammed Abdel powered over for the first try of the match, and Julien Caminati calmly added the extras to give the North Africans a 7-3 advantage.
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Namibia regained control shortly after, with Prince !Gaoseb crossing the try line. Although the conversion was missed, Namibia edged ahead 8-7. Cliven Loubser then added a crucial try in the 28th minute, converting it himself to extend Namibia’s lead to 15-7, a scoreline they carried into the halftime break.
The second half saw Namibia tighten their grip on the contest. Loubser slotted another penalty in the 47th minute to make it 18-7, and added a further penalty soon after to stretch the lead to 21-7.
Despite Algeria’s efforts to mount a comeback, Namibia’s solid defense and game management ensured there would be no late drama.
Namibia Advance
With this win, Namibia advances to the final as they aim to reclaim continental glory, while Algeria will face the loser of the Kenya vs Zimbabwe semifinal in the third-place playoff.
