Kotzé’s boot still accurate for French club

Rugby
Andrew Poolman
Former Namibian fly-half Theuns Kotzé was in good form during his French club team Le Puy-en-Velay’s vital 32-29 win against Bazas last Saturday.

The result secures Le Puy entrance into the quarter-final of the French Federal 3 league en puts them in line for a possible promotion to Federal 2 at the end of this season.

The 35-year-old Kotzé contributed a 31st-minute try, as well as three conversions and two penalties as his side had to fight back their way from an early 0-13 deficit to regain parity at 19-19 by halftime.

During the second half, Le Puy raced to a 32-22 lead, but had to hang on defensively for a tight finish.

The Namibian national points record holder joined Le Puy in November 2021 as a player and has also been an active member of their coaching staff.

In French media reporting, the Namibian is praised for the trademark accuracy of his kicking off the tee, tactical kicking and ball distribution.

Kotzé, born at Karasburg and a member of Namibia’s Rugby World Cup squads to New Zealand 2011 and England 2015, holds the national points scoring record of 430 in 40 test matches from 2011 until 2015.

This total includes six tries, 110 conversions, 55 penalties and five drop goals and looks set to remain the national record for many years to come. Kotzé surpassed the previous mark of 335 points set by Jaco Coetzee in 28 tests from 1990 to 1995, with his last test appearance coming in a 34-39 loss against Uruguay in Windhoek on November 25, 2017.