Cornish Pirates

Heino Senekal Talks To Mark Stevens

Pirates forward Heino Senekal has told of his delight after helping his native Namibia reach next year's Rugby World Cup in France.

The imposing 6ft 7in, 17-stone second-row, helped play a key role as his country overcame Morocco in the two-legged African qualifier.

Already 27-5 up from the first leg in Windhoek, Namibia sealed their spot in France by defeating Morocco, who had Moroccan captain and hooker Jalil Narjissi sent-off, 27-8 in Casablanca.

The victory ensured they will line-up in Group D of the tournament alongside Argentina, Ireland and hosts France. Either Georgia or Portugal will complete the group, those two sides meet again on Saturday.

For Senekal, however, a third successive World Cup now beckons for him. The Tsumeb-born player figured in the 1999 campaign, as well as the 2003 tournament in Australia.

"They are great occasions and I'm really looking forward to playing in next year's World Cup," said Senekal, who on Sunday helped the Pirates return to the summit of National League One when he came on in their 41-13 win over London Welsh.

"When it came to the first leg we didn't really know what to expect from Morocco, but we got a good result in that game and it meant the pressure was all on them in the second game.

"Both games were very physical, especially the second one. We were the side who wanted to play the rugby, but they were more interested in trying to fight us. In the end we were just happy to get the result and get through to the World Cup."

The former Cardiff player added: "I've played in two World Cups before, so I know what they are all about. It's always a great honour to play for your country, especially in tournaments like these.

With France, Argentina and Ireland in our group, it is bound to be very tough for us. They are all great sides, but we'll go there and give it our best efforts."