Staff Reporter
LYON, FRANCE, Sept. 27 — Namibia’s Johan Retief has been sidelined from the upcoming Rugby World Cup clash against Uruguay due to a spider bite.
The third-row player experienced complications following a spider bite to his chest, which occurred at the team’s hotel in Aix-les-Bains, situated approximately 80 miles east of Lyon. As a result of infection resulting from the bite, Retief will be absent from his team’s final Pool A match scheduled for Wednesday.
Namibia’s assistant coach, Chrisander Botha, expressed the unforeseeable nature of the incident, describing Retief as unfortunate and emphasizing his importance to the team, given his versatility playing both at No 4 and in the third row.
Retief’s absence compounds an already challenging situation for the Welwitschias, who are also without the injured Le Roux Malan and the suspended Johan Deysel.
Additionally, flanker Wian Conradie and fullback Divan Rossouw will be unavailable for the game against Los Teros. Both Namibia and Uruguay are winless in the tournament so far.
Of the absences, Johan Deysel’s suspension has attracted controversy. The Namibian captain received a six-game ban following a dangerous head-on-head tackle on France captain Antoine Dupont. Dupont underwent surgery for a facial fracture, a day after the match in Marseille, where France secured a 96-0 victory.
Deysel’s yellow card for the incident was upgraded to a red card following a bunker review. He admitted the severity of his offence during his judicial hearing on Tuesday.
The panel deemed the foul play as highly serious, taking into account the recklessness involved, the vulnerability of the victim player, and the significant injury caused. Initially, the panel considered a 12-week suspension, which was halved due to Deysel’s disciplinary record and his apology to Dupont. His suspension will commence with the Uruguay match, with five more games to be determined. He may reduce the ban by one game by attending tackle school.
France has not specified Dupont’s return date, and he is expected to miss Les Bleus’ final Pool A match against Italy on October 6.
Johan Retief’s absence presents an additional setback for Namibia, as they strive to secure their first win at the Rugby World Cup. The Welwitschias have faced defeat in all three of their matches thus far and currently occupy the bottom position in Pool A.
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