WINDHOEK, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's rugby head coach Phil Davies has selected Darryl de la Harpe as captain and Rohan Kitshoff as vice captain for the Europe Tour this month.

Namibia's first match will be against Russia on November 10, followed by matches against Spain (November 17) and Portugal (November 24).

The End of Year Rugby Tour is scheduled by World Rugby for all participating countries that have qualified for the Rugby World Cup 2019.

Davies said he chose both players as he believes they have served Namibia with distinction over a long period of time and will, alongside Chrysander Botha and Renaldo Bothma, give the squad a positive leadership edge.

Namibia Rugby say the national team will depart for Russia on Saturday.

Davies acknowledged that the fact that Namibia have not played a competitive match since August 18 will likely not play in their favor during the tour.

"We find ourselves with an almighty challenge in front of us against the likes of Russia and Spain who are above us in the world rankings," he added.

However, the coach added that he expects his team to challenge every opponent in a very competitive way.

Namibia will use the tour to re-establish the team's playing philosophy, prepare the team to be competitive in every test played, and blood some of the nation's best young players. Enditem