Rugby-Namibia coach resigns three months short of World Cup

CAPE TOWN, June 26 (Reuters - Namibia coach Danie Vermeulen has resigned three months before the start of the World Cup in England, the Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) said on Friday. Vermeulen, who has been in the position since 2012, has been replaced by NRU technical advisor and former Cardiff Blues and Scarlets coach Phil Davies. "It came totally out of the blue and is a shock to us," NRU president Bradley Basson told Reuters via phone from Windhoek. "That being said, we are confident in the technical team that we have in place to lead us to the World Cup and our challenge now is to make the transition as seamless as possible for the players. "Through his role as technical advisor, Phil has been with the team since last year and so is well aware of the challenge ahead." Basson added that an announcement of the new back-line coach will be made in the coming days. Basson says he is not aware of the reasons behind Vermeulen's resignation, though the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation reported on Friday he was unhappy over "interference" from the NRU. "We have not received any elaboration regarding his resignation and believe we offered Mr Vermeulen as much support as was possible for the union," he said. "I can think of no instances of interference and to say we did not give him adequate support would be a baseless allegation. "We have in fact invited Mr Vermeulen to put forward his reasons for his resignation in a media statement from the NRU and hope that he uses that opportunity." Namibia play Russia in Windhoek in two test matches on July 11 and 18. They have been drawn in Group C at the World Cup, which runs from Sept. 18-Oct. 31, along with New Zealand, Argentina, Georgia and Tonga. (Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Mitch Phillips)