MTC and NRU close ranks with regard to staging of Western Province game against Welwitschias

MTC and the Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) today announced that the critical bones of contention have been amicably resolved with regard to the staging of a friendly match between the Western Province and the Namibian national side.

MTC and NRU have reached consensus on how to ensure the game sponsored by FNB will proceed on 7 June 2008.

Albertus Aochamub, GM: Corporate Affairs at MTC, explains: "MTC is satisfied with the fact we can move ahead and bury our differences in the interest of the game of rugby. NRU has acknowledged that they were in breach of the core tenet of the agreement in first consulting with MTC as lead sponsors before taking on any conflicting sponsorships. We will not seek legal recourse anymore but will work to ensure the national team is ready for the upcoming game against the Welwitschias as is our obligation."

He further states: "This was never about any personalities but about NRU treating its lead sponsors with some respect and dealing in good faith by honouring all the provisions of the agreement with us. We are all agreed that the national team needs to participate in a few matches to prepare well for major events. What we will never agree to is to disregard the letter and the spirit of the sponsorship agreement. Rugby should always be bigger than individual egos and we are committed to ensuring we have a winning national team we can all be proud of."

MTC has saved the national stadium from being auctioned in the past for debts owed by NRU. We have raised additional funds to take the national team to the world Cup. We remain committed to ensuring the national team has the resources needed to perform well internationally.