Ryan De La Harpe called up by Namibia

Fylde's Ryan De La Harpe has been called up for the Namibian international squad's European tour.

'The Welwitchias' warm up against Germany at home in Windhoek (31st October) before taking on Canada in Colwyn Bay (7th November), the French Barbarians in Toulon (14th November) & Portugal in Lisbon (21st November). 

This is yet another honour for the popular scrum-half six months after he was the first Namibian to represent the world famous Barbarians. He represented Namibia in the 2011 World Cup and is in contention for selection for RWC2015.

Ryan is in his third season at the Woodlands following spells with West Park (St Helens), Sale Sharks & Moseley. He has made 59 1st team appearances and scored 21 tries for the Woodlands club. He has also represented Lancashire on many occasions. He makes a major contribution to rugby development with his coaching responsibilities including at Myerscough College's Rugby Academy and with the School of Hard Knocks.

Fylde President Michael Brennand said: "We are all tremendously proud of Ryan's achievement in being selected for his country of birth. We will miss him for four National One league matches after next Saturday's match at Darlington Mowden Park but this is nothing compared with supporting him on the Namibian European tour. He will be losing his match fees for the Club during his month away as well as other income from coaching. So we will be holding a fund raising event to help him and his family in these circumstances."

Fylde Head Coach Mark Nelson said: "We're delighted for Ryan. Working out the implications of the IRB Regulation 9 on the release of players for international duty is not a familiar problem for level 3 National One clubs! This is another indicator of the quality of players that we have attracted to this Club and the shop window that we provide for representational honours.

"It is very satisfying that Ryan cites the approach to the game at Fylde as one of the main factors in his selection. He feels that he has been able to express his natural talents within our game and this has been very important in his catching the eye of the Namibian selectors. We are hopeful that this tour will lead to his selection for the World Cup squad and, whilst there is a very long road between now and then, wouldn’t it be great to read in the World Cup programme New Zealand v Namibia - 9 Ryan De La Harpe (Fylde RFC)"  

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Ryan De La Harpe's rugby journey is a long and compelling one. He was born in Walvis Bay in Namibia and has two younger brothers, Darryl & Sergio, both of whom have also represented their country at rugby. He made international appearances at U'16, U'17 and U'18s level and was also a member of the South Africa under-21 elite squad. He played for Orange Free State University, Orange Free State and the African Leopards, an all-Africa representative squad.

He moved to the UK in 2007 and initially his rugby opportunities were restricted due to his visa status. He joined Letchworth RUFC in 2007 for a couple of months and moved to West Park (St Helens) in 2008/9 when he also linked up with Sale Sharks. He played numerous games for the Jets as well as starring for Park in North One. This gave him exposure to the Lancashire selectors and he has played in three successful county championship campaigns. His appearances at Twickenham have been the highlight of his career in England.

Perhaps his lowest point was early in 2010 when he still hadn't resolved the visa issue and couldn't  play rugby above regional or second team level. His hopes of representing Sale, or Fylde for whom he made a few 2nd team appearances early that year, seemed in tatters as he was left to jog around Preston, practice his passing against a pock-marked wall and loft box-kicks to himself.

But his selection by Lancashire in May 2010 gave him a stage on which to show his talent and his career in the UK at last blossomed. He earned a full-time contract with Moseley who were impressed by his pace, courage and an insatiable appetite for hard work.

He then moved to the international arena where he made his first three appearances for Namibia in the 2011 Nations Cup in Bucharest where he played against Romania, Portugal and Georgia. During the 2011 Rugby World Cup, De La Harpe made three appearances as a replacement in the games with Fiji, South Africa and Wales. He is also a 7s specialist and has played in many tournaments for many teams in the last decade.