Rugby World Cup
Athletics great Frankie Fredericks lends support to Namibia at Rugby World Cup
Tristan Barclay
September 29, 2015
Tonga battle to victory over Namibia
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EXETER -- Namibia might be the lowest-ranked team competing at the Rugby World Cup, but they had some world class support in the shape of national sporting icon Frankie Fredericks at Sandy Park on Tuesday.

The four-time Olympic silver medalist was in Exeter to cheer on his compatriots, who were eventually beaten 35-21 by Pool C opponents Tonga.

Fredericks brought cheers from the Namibian support on the south Devon coast and could be seen waving the national flag with great enthusiasm from his box high up in the West Stand.

"This is my second World Cup match," Fredericks told ESPN. "I saw Namibia play New Zealand last week. With the All Blacks, I was very happy because the boys played well. Today they made a few simple mistakes. We could have pushed Tonga closer but unfortunately it didn't work out. I'm still very proud of them though."

Namibia next face Georgia back at Sandy Park on Wednesday, Oct. 7, where they will be looking to build on a decent second-half performance against Tonga, which saw them run in three tries for the first time in their World Cup history.

"I didn't know Exeter was so far away [fom London]," added Fredericks, who is now an ambassador for athletics' governing body IAAF. "I just landed this morning, but it's nice to be here. It's a nice atmosphere, nice people. I think the crowd were a little bit biased, but hopefully against Georgia they will be for Namibia!"

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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