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Namibia confident of finding more Burgers

Cape Town - Namibia head coach Phil Davies believes that finding a replacement for talisman Jacques Burger is far from impossible.

Burger hung up his boots at the end of last season for both his club, Saracens, and country. 

The standout player for the Welwitschias at the last two Rugby World Cups will be sorely missed moving forward, but Davies is certain there are young players out there capable of filling Burger's sizeable shoes.

“It is very difficult to replace people like Jacques Burger. He was obviously a talisman within the group but great players come and go," he told World Rugby.

"It happens in Welsh rugby and it is certainly happened in New Zealand rugby of late but you will always find certain young players who will develop and grow into that talismanic figure over a period of time.

"I am confident we will find a few more Jacques Burgers.”

Davies elaborated: “We have a few fully professional players but the majority of players are either semi-professional, playing in South Africa or studying, or home-based, who we need to develop.

“We have to try and mould those three different sets of players into one cohesive group. That was the challenge before Rugby World Cup 2015 and that remains the challenge as we aim for qualification for Japan in 2019.”

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