Uruguay fight back from 14 points down to claim maximum over Namibia

Uruguay fought back from a 14-point deficit to overcome Namibia and claim their first victory of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, winning 36-26 in Lyon on Wednesday.

The win puts the South Americans level on points with New Zealand in Pool A, who they face next Thursday, although the All Blacks have a game in hand.

Baltazar Amaya (2), German Kessler, Santiago Arata and Bautista Basso tries helped Uruguay to the bonus-point as they continue to star at the World Cup.

Felipe Etcheverry contributed to the scoreboard with three conversions while Felipe Berchesi added five points of his own through a penalty and conversion.

Namibia's try scorers were wings Gerswin Mouton and JC Greyling, with fly-half Tiaan Swanepoel kicking 16 points via two conversions and four penalties.

Namibia, playing their fourth and final Pool A game in 18 days, led 20-12 at half-time but were punished for ill-discipline as their winless run at six World Cups was extended to 26 matches.

The Africans' prop Johan Coetzee, captain Tjiuee Uanivi and replacement Desiderius Sethie were all yellow carded for high tackles, with the latter's upgraded to red, and Uruguay cruised to their fourth World Cup win.

Namibia had lost heavily in all three of their previous group games, against Italy, New Zealand and France ― but they made a flying start.

Wingers Mouton and Greyling both went over in the corner for early converted tries to give the Africans a 14-0 lead.

Uruguay, who had given France a tough test in a 27-12 opening defeat and led Italy 17-7 at half-time before losing 38-17, responded through Amaya's close-range try.

After Swanepoel's penalty, Uruguay cut the deficit to 17-12 in the 28th minute as hooker Kessler touched down after a driving maul from a lineout.

Swanepoel landed his second penalty to extend Namibia's lead to 20-12 at half-time and a third at the start of the second period made it 23-12.

But Uruguay poured on the pressure and after Namibia prop Coetzee had been shown a yellow card, Amaya produced a brilliant finish in the corner for his second try.

🇺🇾 That was some finish from Uruguay's Baltazar Amaya. #URUvNAM pic.twitter.com/xJCSHfLuCA

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 27, 2023

Etcheverry converted and the gap was closed to four points at 23-19 and Uruguay took the lead for the first time in the match in the 54th minute through scrum-half Arata's superb solo effort, which was also converted.

Namibia skipper Uanivi was shown a yellow card for a high tackle with 18 minutes left and within a minute his side were down to 13 men when replacement prop Sethie was sin-binned for the same offence.

The latter's was later confirmed as a red card and Uruguay punished them further as another converted try from winger Basso put them 33-23 ahead.

Swanepoel and Berchesi swapped penalties to make it 36-26 before Uruguay replacement Eric Dosantos was sin-binned for a high tackle in the closing stages.

The teams

Uruguay:  15 Baltazar Amaya, 14 Bautista Basso, 13 Felipe Arcos Perez, 12 Andres Vilaseca (c), 11 Nicolas Freitas, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 9 Santiago Arata, 8 Carlos Deus, 7 Santiago Civetta, 6 Manuel Ardao, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Felipe Aliaga, 3 Diego Arbelo, 2 German Kessler, 1 Mateo Sanguinetti
Replacements:  16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Facundo Gattas, 18 Reinaldo Piussi, 19 Juan Manuel Rodríguez, 20 Eric Dosantos, 21 Agustin Ormaechea, 22 Felipe Berchesi, 23 Juan Manuel Alonso

Namibia:  15 Cliven Loubser, 14 Gerswin Mouton, 13 Alcino Izaacs, 12 Danco Burger, 11 JC Greyling, 10 Tiaan Swanepoel, 9 Damian Stevens, 8 Richard Hardwick, 7 Tjiuee Uanivi (c), 6 Prince Gaoseb, 5 Tiaan de Klerk, 4 Adriaan Ludick, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Jason Benade
Replacements:  16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Desiderius Sethie, 18 Haitembu Shifuka, 19 PJ Van Lill, 20 Max Katjijeko, 21 Adriaan Booysen, 22 Jacques Theron, 23 Andre van der Bergh

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Chris Busby (Ireland)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

France seal record-breaking win over Namibia as Damian Penaud dazzles

France put on a masterclass of attacking rugby as they thumped Namibia 96-0 in Marseille, scoring 14 tries in a ruthless Rugby World Cup win on Thursday.

It was a record victory for Les Bleus as they cruised to a bonus-point success, with 54 points racked up in the opening half and 42 in a second in a canter.

Damian Penaud (3), Jonathan Danty (2), Charles Ollivon (2), Thibaud Flament, Antoine Dupont, Louis Bielle-Biarrey (2), Baptiste Couilloud and Melvyn Jaminet crossed on a fruitful night for Fabien Galthie's men, with a penalty try also awarded in the final minute to rubber stamp their biggest ever World Cup win.

However, there is concern over star player Dupont, who reportedly suffered a concussion and been taken to hospital for scans on an injured cheekbone.

The first half was an incredible spectacle as Les Bleus cut loose, scoring eight tries as Namibia couldn't live with the tempo and skill the hosts possessed.

France opened their account as early as the sixth minute when from an attacking lineout, Dupont's cross-kick found Penaud who finished for a 5-0 lead.

The gap became 12 points three minutes later when a chip over the top saw Bielle-Biarrey send a lovely inside ball to Danty who dotted down on the left.

Danty would cross for his second try before the half-hour mark but not before Penaud grabbed his own brace and Ollivon finished off a slick team score.

MAGNIFIQUE!!! 😍🇫🇷#FRAvNAM #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/XTSJGGQi27

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 21, 2023

France were not done and in fact seemed to increase the tempo as the half moved towards its end, with Thomas Ramos converting a further three tries.

The first came via lock Flament after number eight Anthony Jelonch put him clean through from 20 metres out before Penaud set up Dupont as the pair cut loose.  Closing out the half would be Bielle-Biarrey's first try of the evening as Dupont's boot came to the fore again, finding his wing with his left foot for a 54-0 cushion.

Namibia's night would get worse after the interval when they had an intercept try from Divan Rossouw chalked off before Johan Deysel was red carded after review, with his head on head contact with Dupont seeing Couilloud come on and grab his chance with both hands, wasting no time at all in getting on the try sheet.

Couilloud was denied a second shortly after due to an off-the-ball tackle before wing Penaud picked up his hat-trick on 55 minutes to make it a 68-0 lead.

Bielle-Biarrey would then sprint clear across into the right corner for arguably the try of the match before and Ollivon then dummied before going over.

Namibia were cut open again by more quick French passing eight minutes later, with Jaminet showing his speed to surge clear with Ramos' conversion bringing up a new record score, passing the 87-10 win over the same opponents at the 2007 World Cup.

France were awarded a late penalty try after a maul collapsed, with Jason Benade sent to the sin-bin to compound a forgettable evening for Namibia as the partisan Marseille crowd revelled at the final whistle whilst also holding their breath over Dupont.

🇫🇷🇳🇦 14-TRY FRANCE HAMMER NAMIBIA! #FRAvNAM #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/xSl0Svj7Ca

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 21, 2023

The teams

France:  15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Anthony Jelonch, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 François Cros, 5 Thibaud Flament, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements:  16 Pierre Bourgarit, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Paul Boudehent, 21 Baptiste Couilloud, 22 Yoram Moefana, 23 Melvyn Jaminet

Namibia:  15 Andre van der Bergh, 14 Gerswin Mouton, 13 Johan Deysel (c), 12 Danco Burger, 11 JC Greyling, 10 Cliven Loubser, 9 Jacques Theron, 8 Prince Gaoseb, 7 Johan Retief, 6 Max Katjijeko, 5 Adriaan Ludick, 4 Mahepisa Tjeriko, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Louis van der Westhuizen, 1 Desiderius Sethie
Replacements:  16 Obert Nortje, 17 Jason Benade, 18 Haitembu Shifuka, 19 PJ Van Lill, 20 Richard Hardwick, 21 Oela Blaauw, 22 Alcino Izaacs, 23 Divan Rossouw

Referee:  Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (IRFU), Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO:  Joy Neville (IRFU)

All Blacks bounce back in style with 11-try victory over Namibia

New Zealand bounced back from their opening Rugby World Cup defeat to France by dominating Namibia, winning 71-3 at Stadium de Toulouse on Friday.

It was one-way traffic in the Pool A clash as the All Blacks ran in 11 tries on the night, with Damian McKenzie adding a further 16 points off the tee.

Electric half-backs Cam Roigard and McKenzie starred with two tries apiece while Leicester Fainga'anuku, Anton Lienert-Brown, Ethan De Groot, Dalton Papali'i, David Havili, Caleb Clarke and Rieko Ioane also crossed as New Zealand showed their class.

However, replacement prop De Groot's evening was soured by a yellow card that was upgraded to red after he made head on head contact in a tackle.

There was no such negativity for scrum-half Roigard though, with the youngster shining on his first start as he won the Player of the Match award.

Namibia remain without a victory in 23 attempts at the World Cup going back to 1999 and never looked strong enough to pose problems for New Zealand.

The three-time winners drew first blood after only two minutes.  McKenzie kicked on for Fainga'anuku to collect and he offloaded for Roigard to take over and score under the posts, with McKenzie converting comfortably.

It took only another six minutes for the lead to extend to 12 points when Roigard received the ball from a scrum and went over for his second try.

Namibia's night took a further turn for the worse when centre Le Roux Malan suffered a bad knee injury, leaving the pitch on a stretcher and clutching an oxygen mask, moments after Tiaan Swanepoel had cut the deficit with a penalty.

Minutes later New Zealand pulled further ahead when McKenzie went over for a converted try, weaving through Namibia's line to make it 19-3.

The bonus point was secured for the All Blacks with 15 minutes of the first half still to play, Fainga'anuku powering over and showing excellent hands for his team's fourth try, before two tries in just over a minute made the score unassailable before the break.

First, Lienert-Brown took full advantage of the slippery conditions with two well controlled kicks along the ground to get in behind Namibia and drop on it as it crossed the try-line, then McKenzie added his second of the game when he collected from Roigard off a scrum and crossed the whitewash to make it 38-3 at the interval.

De Groot ensured New Zealand began the second half in the same ruthless vain with which they finished the first, the prop crashing over just 30 seconds after coming off the bench despite the attentions of two Namibia defenders.

Beauden Barrett made the next try for Papali'i, breaking out wide before slipping the ball across with a fine bullet pass for the flanker to go over under the posts, minutes before Havili took advantage of a superb run through the middle from Roigard to go over the line and make it 57-3.

👏 Filthy from Ofa Tu'ungafasi. #NZLvNAM #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/0AwfdmkSRU

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 15, 2023

Clarke scored New Zealand's 10th try when he got on the end of a cross-field kick from Richie Mo'unga to slide over the line.

De Groot was sent to the sin bin with eight minutes to play ― later upgraded to a red card for dangerous play ― but it did not halt New Zealand's charge, replacement Ioane scoring to make it 71-3 near the end.

The teams

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Caleb Clarke, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 David Havili, 11 Leicester Fainga'anuku, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Dalton Papali'i, 6 Luke Jacobson, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Samisoni Taukei'aho, 1 Ofa Tu'ungafasi
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Ethan de Groot, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Tupou Vaa'i, 21 Aaron Smith, 22 Richie Mo'unga, 23 Rieko Ioane

Namibia:  15 Cliven Loubser, 14 Gerswin Mouton, 13 Johan Deysel (c), 12 Le Roux Malan, 11 Divan Rossouw, 10 Tiaan Swanepoel, 9 Damian Stevens, 8 Richard Hardwick, 7 Prince Gaoseb, 6 Wian Conradie, 5 Tjiuee Uanivi, 4 Johan Retief, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Jason Benade
Replacements:  16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Desiderius Sethie, 18 Haitembu Shifuka, 19 PJ Van Lill, 20 Adriaan Booysen, 21 Max Katjijeko, 22 Jacques Theron, 23 JC Greyling

Referee:  Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (Ireland), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Seven-try Italy put 50 past plucky Namibia in Saint-Etienne

Italy made an excellent start to their Rugby World Cup campaign when they sealed a 52-8 bonus-point victory against Namibia in Saint-Etienne on Saturday.

Although it was a comfortable win in the end, the Azzurri were made to work hard for the result, especially in the opening half when their opponents put in a competitive performance.

In the end, Italy’s class shone through and they eventually outscored Namibia by seven tries to one with Lorenzo Cannone, Paolo Garbisi, Dino Lamb, Ange Capuozzo, Hame Faiva, Manuel Zuliani and Paolo Odogwu crossing the whitewash for the Azzurri, while Tommaso Allan finished with a 17-point haul courtesy of seven conversions and a penalty.

For the Welwitschias, Gerswin Mouton scored a try and Tiaan Swanepoel added a penalty.

Namibia made the brighter start and opened the scoring as early as the fourth minute when Swanepoel succeeded with a penalty but five minutes later the Azzurri drew level courtesy of a Allan three-pointer off the kicking tee.

Shortly afterwards, Namibia were reduced to 14 men when Torsten van Jaarsveld was yellow carded for collapsing a maul illegally close to his try-line.

Italy put the resulting penalty into touch deep inside Namibia territory and got a rolling maul going from the lineout before Cannone crashed over for the opening try.

With Van Jaarsveld in the sin bin, Namibia struggled with their throw-ins at the lineouts and in the 15th minute Italy pounced on a wayward throw from Richard Hardwick at the set-piece.

The ball came out to Garbisi, who beat a couple of defenders with ease inside Namibia’s 22 before dotting down under the posts.

Despite their numerical advantage, the Welwitschias did not panic and in the 21st minute they were rewarded when Mouton gathered a long pass from Swanepoel before dotting down in the right-hand corner.

The rest of the half was a scrappy affair as Namibia did well to keep the Azzurri at bay and the Welwitschias had a chance to narrow the gap on the stroke of half-time when Swanepoel lined up a monster shot at goal from 60 metres out.

His effort had the distance but not the direction and the teams changed sides at the break with the Azzurri holding a 17-8 lead.

Italy were fastest out of the blocks in the second period and extended their lead in the 46th minute when Lamb crashed over from close quarters for their third try.

10 minutes later, Capuozzo launched a stunning counter-attack from deep inside his half and traded passes with Monty Ioane before diving over in the left-hand corner for a well-taken try.

🇮🇹 Italy speedster Ange Capuozzo leaves his stamp on the match with this brilliant try against Namibia in Toulouse! #RWC2023 #ITAvNAM pic.twitter.com/WCGLXlE6uk

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 9, 2023

With the bonus-point in the bag, the Azzurri upped the ante on attack and were rewarded with further tries from Faiva and Zuliani during the latter stages of the match before Odogwu came off the bench to show a superb turn of pace as he added the final nail in Namibia’s coffin after the full-time hooter had sounded.

The teams

Italy:  15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Dino Lamb, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Epalahame Faiva, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 David Sisi, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Martin Page-Relo, 22 Paolo Odogwu, 23 Pierre Bruno

Namibia:  15 Divan Rossouw, 14 Gerswin Mouton, 13 Johan Deysel (c), 12 Danco Burger, 11 JC Greyling, 10 Tiaan Swanepoel, 9 Damian Stevens, 8 Richard Hardwick, 7 Johan Retief, 6 Wian Conradie, 5 Tjiuee Uanivi, 4 Adriaan Ludick, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Desiderius Sethie
Replacements:  16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Jason Benade, 18 Casper Viviers, 19 Tiaan De Klerk, 20 Prince Gaoseb, 21 Jacques Theron, 22 Andre van der Bergh, 23 Le Roux Malan

Referee:  Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Paul Williams (New Zealand), Chris Busby (Ireland)
TMO:  Joy Neville (Ireland)

11-try All Blacks too good for plucky Namibia

New Zealand made a statement of intent to their Rugby World Cup rivals as they claimed a 71-9 victory over Namibia in their Pool B clash in Tokyo on Sunday.

As expected this was a one-sided affair although the All Blacks battled to hit their stride and held a narrow 10-9 lead after 35 minutes before two late first-half tries gave them a 24-9 buffer at the break.

In the end, the world champions ran in 11 unanswered tries with Sevu Reece (2), Anton Lienert-Brown (2), Ben Smith (2), Angus Ta’avao, Joe Moody, Sam Whitelock, Jordie Barrett and TJ Perenara all crossing the whitewash.  Barrett finished with a 21-point haul as he also kicked eight conversions while Damian Stevens scored all Namibia’s points courtesy of three penalties.

New Zealand will be sweating over the availability of Nepo Laulala and Ofa Tu’ungafasi for their next match, against Italy on October 12, though after both props were yellow carded for dangerous tackles.

Despite being outplayed in most facets of play, Namibia were competitive during the first half and drew first blood courtesy of a penalty from Stevens after just two minutes.

It did not take long for the All Blacks to gain the upper hand, however, and four minutes later Reece scored the opening try after gathering a cross-field kick from Barrett.

Surprisingly, the next 15 minutes were evenly contested and Namibia did well to breach the All Blacks’ defence on a couple of occasions.

Only desperate tackling from the world champions prevented the Welwitchias from scoring a try during that period, particularly in the 13th minute when Johan Deysel was stopped close to the All Blacks try-line after a superb line break from PJ van Lill in the build-up.

New Zealand did well to soak up the pressure and midway through the half they extended their lead when Lienert-Brown crossed the whitewash after a fine run in which he beat three defenders.

That score did not deter the Welwitchias, however, and they narrowed the gap to a point by the half-hour mark after Stevens succeeded with two more penalties.

Shortly afterwards, the All Blacks were dealt a further blow when Laulala was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle to the head of Lesley Klim.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, New Zealand dominated the closing stages of the half and were rewarded with tries by Laulala’s replacement, Ta’avao, and Smith which gave them a 24-9 lead at half-time.

FT | Job done in Tokyo.#NZLvNAM #BACKBLACK pic.twitter.com/C5vcKPRzPF

— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) October 6, 2019

The All Blacks came out firing after the interval and two minutes after the restart Moody crossed for their fifth five-pointer when he crashed over from close quarters.

It was one-way traffic during the rest of the match as the world champions delivered a masterclass on attacking play and they continued to run in tries from all areas of the field.

Five minutes after Moody’s try, Ardie Savea breached the Namibian defence before offloading to Lienert-Brown, who crossed for his second try before Smith turned provider when he got a pass out to Reece, who also got in for his second five-pointer.

In the 56th minute, Whitelock got his name on the scorescheet, which brought up a half century of points for his team, and the world champions turned on the style as the match progressed while Namibia struggled to cope.

Smith crossed for his second try in the 68th minute, after gathering a superb flick pass from Lienert-Brown, but five minutes later the All Blacks were reduced to 14 men again when Tu’ungafasi also received his marching orders for a high tackle on Darryl De La Harpe.

Despite that setback, the All Blacks finished stronger and late tries from Barrett and Perenara sealed an emphatic win for the world champions, who return to the top of Pool B’s standings.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Reece 2, Lienert-Brown 2, Ta’avao, B Smith 2, Moody, Whitelock, Barrett, Perenara
Cons:  Barrett 8
Yellow Cards:  Laulala, Tu’ungafasi

For Namibia:
Pens:  Stevens 3

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 George Bridge, 10 Jordie Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Sam Whitelock (c), 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Matt Todd, 21 Brad Weber, 22 TJ Perenara, 23 Rieko Ioane

Namibia:  15 Johan Tromp, 14 Lesley Klim, 13 Justin Newman, 12 Johan Deysel (c), 11 JC Greyling, 10 Helarius Axasman Kisting, 9 Damian Stevens, 8 Janco Venter, 7 Thomasau Forbes, 6 Prince Gaoseb, 5 Tjiuee Uanivi, 4 PJ Van Lill, 3 AJ De Klerk, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Andre Rademeyer
Replacements:  16 Obert Nortje, 17 Nelius Theron, 18 Johannes Coetzee, 19 Johan Retief, 20 Adriaan Booysen, 21 Eugene Jantjies, 22 Darryl De La Harpe, 23 Janry du Toit

Referee:  Pascal Gaüzère (France)
Assistant referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Nine-try Springboks put 50 past Namibia

South Africa proved too strong for Namibia as they ran out 57-3 winners in their Rugby World Cup clash at the City of Toyota Stadium on Saturday.

As expected, the Springboks were on the front-foot from the kick off as they dominated most facets of play and had too much firepower for their opponents.

The Boks eventually ran nine unanswered tries past their hapless opponents with Bongi Mbonambi and Makazole Mapimpi scoring a brace apiece.

Their other tries were scored by Francois Louw, Lukhanyo Am, Warrick Gelant and Schalk Brits, while Elton Jantjies contributed 12 points after slotting six conversions.

Namibia’s only points came courtesy of a first half penalty from Cliven Loubser.

South Africa started brightly and in the fifth minute Brits grounded the ball against an upright but his effort was ruled out when television replays revealed that he knocked on in the build-up.

That did not deter the Boks and five minutes later they opened their account when Mbonambi crossed the whitewash from a lineout drive and that tactic proved successful again soon after when Louw scored in similar fashion.

Things went from bad to worse for the Welwitchias in the 17th minute when they were reduced to 14 men after Adriaan Booysen was yellow carded for deliberately knocking down a Springboks pass deep inside his half.

It did not take long for South Africa to capitalise on their numerical advantage as two minutes after Booysen’s exit Mbonambi scored again, after another strong Bok lineout drive deep inside Namibian territory.

Although the Boks had the bulk of the possession during the latter stages of the opening period, Namibia scored next courtesy of a penalty from Loubser after Tendai Mtawarira infringed at a ruck.

The Boks eventually regained the initiative and secured their bonus-point try when Mapimpi dotted down in the 27th minute, and on the stroke of half-time Am also crossed the whitewash after running onto a well-timed pass from Brits.

That meant the Boks held a comfortable 31-3 lead at the interval and they continued to dominate after the restart as Gelant scored his try in the 50th minute after good work from Am in the build-up.

⏱️ FULL-TIME

9⃣ tries scored
0⃣ conceded
5⃣ points in the bag

🇳🇦 A big thank you to our African neighbours for a great game
🤞 Good luck for the rest of the tournament!#StrongerTogether #RWC2019 #RSAvNAM pic.twitter.com/6eBZ3gqZJT

— Springboks (@Springboks) September 28, 2019

Shortly afterwards, Brits turned provider again when he threw an inside pass to Mapimpi after breaking away from a lineout drive just outside Namibia’s 22 and the Bok flyer showed the Namibian defence a clean pair of heels on his way over the try-line.

With the game in the bag, South Africa made several changes to their run-on side and shortly after his introduction Kolisi crossed for his side’s eighth try.

Namibia suffered another setback in the 64th minute when Johannes Coetzee was also sent to the sin-bin for an off-the-ball shoulder charge on Brits.

The Bok skipper would have the last laugh though as he went over for his side’s ninth try after another good lineout drive deep inside Namibian territory in the 64th minute.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Mbonambi 2, Louw, Mapimpi 2, Am, Gelant, Kolisi, Brits
Cons:  Jantjies 6

For Namibia:
Pen:  Loubser
Yellow Cards:  Booysen, Coetzee

South Africa:  15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Schalk Brits (c), 7 Kwagga Smith, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Steven Kitshoff, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Eben Etzebeth, 19 Siya Kolisi, 20 Franco Mostert, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Damian de Allende, 23 Cheslin Kolbe

Namibia:  15 Johan Tromp, 14 Chad Plato, 13 JC Greyling, 12 Peter John Walters, 11 Lesley Klim, 10 Cliven Loubser, 9 Eugene Jantjies, 8 Adriaan Booysen, 7 Muharua Katjijeko, 6 Thomasau Forbes, 5 Tjiuee Uanivi (c), 4 Johan Retief, 3 AJ de Klerk, 2 Louis van der Westhuizen, 1 Desiderius Sethie
Replacements:  16 Obert Nortje, 17 Andre Rademeyer, 18 Johannes Coetzee, 19 Prince Gaoseb, 20 Janco Venter, 21 Wian Conradie, 22 Helarius Axasman Kisting, 23 Johan Deysel

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Italy get the better of plucky Namibia

Italy made a positive start to their Rugby World Cup campaign when they notched a 47-22 bonus-point win over Namibia in Higashiosaka on Sunday.

Despite the big winning margin, the Azzurri were made to work for this result as Namibia were competitive for long periods.

But in the end, the Azzurri had to much firepower for their opponents and eventually outscored them by seven tries to three.  Tommaso Allan, Tito Tebaldi, Edoardo Padovani, Carlo Canna, Jake Polledri and Matteo Minozzi all dotted down while Allan (3) and Canna (2) added conversions.

Damian Stevens, JC Greyling and Chad Plato scored tries for Namibia and Cliven Loubser added two conversions and a penalty.

Namibia had the better of the early exchanges and took the lead in the sixth minute courtesy of a fine try from Stevens.  This, after an Italian lineout went awry close to the halfway line and Torsten van Jaarsveld pounced on the loose ball before setting up a phase just inside his opponents’ half.

The ball was shifted wide to Plato, who set off on a blistering run down the right-hand touchline which had Italy’s defence at sixes and sevens.  He got a pass out to Darryl De la Harpe and he did well to offload to Stevens, who rounded off with a spectacular dive.

Loubser added the extras which meant the Welwitschias had their tails up with the score 7-0 in their favour.

Their joy was short-lived, however, as Italy drew level by the 10th minute when referee Nic Berry awarded a penalty try after Namibia capitulated under great pressure at a scrum on their five-metre line.

That score was a shot in the arm for the Azzurri, who held a slight edge during the rest of the half.  In the 25th minute they took the lead when Luca Morisi set off on a 40-metre run before being brought to ground five metres short of Namibia’s try-line.  From the ensuing ruck, Tebaldi got a pass out to Allan, who crashed over under the posts before slotting the conversion which gave his side a 14-7 lead.

The rest of the half was a scrappy affair, although the Azzurri extended their lead on the stroke of half-time when Tebaldi crossed for their third try after gathering a superb offload from Federico Ruzza in the build-up.

Allan’s conversion was successful which meant Italy held a 21-7 lead at half-time.

FT: After an impressive performance, @Federugby get the win beating Namibia 47-22 #ITAvNAM #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/wGiW2u4Di3

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 22, 2019

The second half started brightly for the Azzurri when Padovani gathered a perfectly weighted grubber kick from Benvenuti before scoring his side’s bonus-point try in the 45th minute, and they went further ahead when Canna dotted down shortly afterwards.

Despite those setbacks, Namibia did not surrender and another Loubser penalty was followed by a try from Greyling, who scored out wide after running onto a well-timed pass from his fly-half.

Italy soon regained the initiative and they dominated during the latter stages of the match.  In the 66th minute, Polledri crossed the whitewash off the back of a lineout drive before Minozzi sealed their win with his try five minutes later.

Namibia would finish stronger, however, and were rewarded with a superb try from Plato in the game’s closing stages.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Penalty try, Allan, Tebaldi, Padovani, Canna, Polledri, Minozzi
Cons:  Allan 3, Canna 2

For Namibia:
Tries:  Stevens, Greyling, Plato
Cons:  Loubser 2
Pen:  Loubser

Italy:  15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Mattia Bellini, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Edoardo Padovani, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Maxime Mbandà, 6 Braam Steyn, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Alessandro Zanni, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Nicola Quaglio
Replacements:  16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Simone Ferrari, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Dean Budd, 20 Jake Polledri, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Matteo Minozzi

Namibia:  15 Johan Tromp, 14 Chad Plato, 13 Justin Newman, 12 Darryl De la Harpe, 11 JC Greyling, 10 Cliven Loubser, 9 Damian Stevens, 8 Janco Venter, 7 Wian Conradie, 6 Rohan Kitshoff, 5 Tjiuee Uanivi (c), 4 PJ Van Lill, 3 Johannes Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Andre Rademeyer
Replacements:  16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 AJ De Klerk, 18 Nelius Theron, 19 Johan Retief, 20 Max Katjijeko, 21 Eugene Jantjies, 22 Helarius Axasman Kisting, 23 Lesley Klim

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Nine-try Argentina thrash Namibia

Argentina laid down a marker ahead of the World Cup's play-offs when they claimed a 64-19 victory over Namibia in their Pool C clash in Leicester on Sunday.

As expected, los Pumas were in control from start to finish and outscored their opponents nine tries to three and this performance sets them up nicely for next weekend's quarter-final against the winners of the clash between France and Ireland later in the day.

Despite making 11 changes to their starting XV, Argentina turned on the and several players delivered superb performances which will give their coach Daniel Hourcade a selection headache ahead of their play-off clash.

Namibia were never going to win this encounter especially considering that they were involved in a gruelling clash with Georgia just five days ago and Argentina made full use of their superior fitness especially during the game's latter stages when Namibia were tiring.

The Welwitchias gave a good account of themselves up front, particularly the scrums, but los Pumas took control of the set phases as the match progressed which created plenty of gaps which their backline gladly exploited.

Los Pumas were on the attack from the opening minute and Juan Martin Hernandez scored his first World Cup try since crossing for a brace against Romania at the 2003 tournament as early as the seventh minute after Matias Moroni laid the groundwork with a mazy run in the build-up.

Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias then made it 10-0 from the kicking tee after the Welwitchias were reduced to 14 men in the 10th minute when JC Greyling was yellow-carded for not using his arms in a tackle on Hernandez.

That setback didn't seem to bother the Africans though and shortly afterwards Johan Tromp pounced on a mistake in los Pumas' backline to score his side's opening try.

Tromp booted a loose ball, close to Argentina's 10-metre line, ahead before regathering and dotting down under the posts.  Shortly afterwards, Moroni showed great determination as he ghosted past four defenders to cross for a deserved try under the posts.

Argentina's forwards then set up a solid platform for their backs who took the ball wide to Horacio Agulla who crossed for Argentina's third try, which meant both los Pumas wingers scored in the same World Cup match for the third consecutive time.

Facundo Isa then crossed from a lineout drive to secure Argentina's bonus point in the 35th minute before Lucas Noguera Paz dotted down on the stroke of half-time to give his side a 36-7 lead.

Namibia made a superb start to the second half when Greyling made up for his earlier indiscretion to score his side's second try.  The centre gathered a loose ball close to Argentina's 10-metre line and outpaced the cover defence before dotting down under the sticks.

The rest of the match was one-way traffic, however, as Argentina introduced first-choice players like Marcelo Bosch, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Tomas Cubelli and Juan Imhoff off the replacements bench.

Matias Alemanno crossed for los Pumas' sixth try in the 50th minute but the South Americans were also forced to play with 14 men shortly afterwards when Bosch was sent to the sin bin for a tip-tackle on Theuns Kotze.

That didn't deter Argentina though and the rest of the match became a loose affair as they ran the ball from all areas of the field.  Leonardo Senatore soon rounded off under the posts, after the ball went through several pairs of hands in the build-up.

Los Pumas' free-flowing was rewarded when Julian Montoya and Cubelli also crossed for further five-pointers towards the end and although Namiba played the closing stages with 14 men — after Tinus Du Plessis received a yellow card for taking out Bosch in the air — they got the biggest cheer of the match when Eugene Jantjies rounded off a superb move in injury time.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Hernandez, Moroni, Agulla, Isa, Noguera Paz, Alemanno, Senatore, Montoya, Cubelli
Cons:  Iglesias 4, Socino 4
Pen:  Iglesias
Yellow card:  Bosch

For Namibia:
Tries:  Tromp, Greyling, Jantjes
Cons:  Kotze 2
Yellow cards:  Greyling, Du Plessis

Argentina:  15 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 14 Matias Moroni, 13 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martin Hernandez, 9 Martin Landajo (c), 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Lucas Noguera Paz.
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Ramiro Herrera, 19 Leonardo Senatore, 20 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Marcelo Bosch, 23 Juan Imhoff.

Namibia:  15 Chrysander Botha, 14 Johan Tromp, 13 JC Greyling, 12 Johan Deysel, 11 Conrad Marais, 10 Theuns Kotze, 9 Eneill Buitendag, 8 Leneve Damens, 7 Wian Conradie, 6 Rohan Kitsoff (captain), 5 Tijuee Uanivi, 4 Janco Venter, 3 Johannes Coetzee, 2 Torsten Van Jaarsveld, 1 Jaco Engels.
Replacements:  16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Johnny Redelinghuys, 18 Raoul Larson, 19 Renaldo Bothma, 20 Tinus Du Plessis, 21 PJ Van Lill, 22 Eugene Jantjes, 23 Heinrich Smit.

Referee:  Pascal Gauzere (France)

Georgia hold off spirited Namibia

Georgia all but booked their place at the 2019 Rugby World Cup after edging out Namibia 17-16 at Sandy Park, despite trailing 0-6 at the interval.

Wednesday's contest was hardly a classic and credit must go to Namibia for how they performed.  However, Georgia's experience saw them home.

Tries from Mamuka Gorgodze and Lasha Malaguradze proved to be the difference as the Lelos now hope Tonga don't surprise New Zealand on Friday.

Namibia though, while disappointed to come so close and not win, made history in Exeter by claiming their first Rugby World Cup point.

It was a strange game in Exeter as the first-half action lasted 49 minutes — 68 in total — in what was a try-less opening period to the match.

The prize was big for Georgia as they looked to back up their win over Tonga with their second of the tournament, which would all but secure their place in the 2019 tournament.  However, there were plenty of nerves from the Lelos and the Namibians feasted on them for large periods.

It didn't take long for Namibia to open the scoring, inside the first minute in fact, when Georgia knocked on at the kick-off and then were caught offside.  Theuns Kotze made no mistake off the tee in front of a packed out Sandy Park faithful, who have loved their World Cup games.

However, it wasn't all good news for the Namibians early on as they lost their talismanic captain Jacques Burger to a head knock in the ninth minute.  Unfortunately his Head Injury Assessment wasn't given the all-clear and the Saracens man had his final RWC fixture prematurely ended.

Soon after Burger was off, it looked like Georgia had crossed through left wing Alexander Todua.  But television match official Shaun Veldsman adjudged pivot Malaguradze to have knocked on in the act of stripping the ball off a Namibian attacker.  It came as massive relief for Namibia.

Their relief would turn to joy when they doubled their lead on eighteen minutes again via the boot of Kotze, this time after Georgian flanker Viktor Kolelishvili made a high tackle on Namibia number eight Renaldo Bothma.  Were the African side heading towards a famous World Cup win?

Georgia, despite enjoying the majority of possession and territory leading up to the half-hour continued to be rattled and fragmented in their game.  That left Milton Haig venting in the coach's box and gave yet more confidence to Phil Davies' side that a first ever RWC victory was on.

Things wouldn't improve for Georgia when hooker Jaba Bregvadze was yellow carded for leading with the elbow on Heinrich Smit on 35 minutes, but in an extended half due to stoppages — from start to finish it was 68 minutes — it would be Georgia who went in with a man advantage when props Raoul Larson and Johannes Coetzee were also marched to the sin-bin by Irish referee George Clancy for a cynical and scrum offence respectively.

Importantly for Namibia though they kept their try-line intact.

Georgia were intent on changing that early in the second-half and with Merab Kvirikashvili and Todua combining well, it looked like happening sooner rather than later.  And sure enough it came from Gorgodze on 50 minutes before Kvirikashvili's extras moved the Georgians 7-6 in front.

To make that score worse for Namibia, number eight Bothma was carded for a high tackle in the lead-up to that try as Georgia had the momentum.

And they gleefully turned the screw before the 60 minute mark when fly-half Malaguradze found a hole off an offload which made it a 14-6 gap.

Georgia at this point were showing their superiority in terms of fitness and know-how as they enjoyed the majority of the territory and looked much more comfortable in possession.  With fifteen minutes remaining could they start to celebrate a likely automatic spot in 2019's showpiece?

Both sides traded penalties before the final ten minutes but then came the grandstand finish in Exeter as after a third Kotze penalty goal, the Namibian fly-half then crossed the line wide on the left before his fine conversion made it 17-16.  Suddenly the victory was up for grabs.

Georgia though held on as eyes now move to Newcastle on Friday.  For Namibia, a first World Cup losing bonus-point will come as some consolation.

Man of the match:  Namibia impressed in the first period with a workmanlike effort but in the second-half the quality of Georgia helped them turn the screw, with inside centre Merab Sharikadze standing out.  So strong in contact yet nimble on his feet, he was excellent.

Moment of the match:  Georgia needed their man mountain of a captain to inspire this turnaround and Mamuka Gorgodze of course did the job.  His powerful try from close-range on 50 minutes set the Lelos on their way to what looks like being a third-placed finish in the pool.

Villain of the match:  Although there were cards, it was hardly a dirty contest so nothing to see here.

The scorers:

For Georgia:
Tries:  Gorgodze, Malaguradze
Con:  Kvirikashvili 2
Pen:  Kvirikashvili
Yellow:  Bregvadze (leading with elbow — 35 mins)

For Namibia:
Try:  Kotze
Con:  Kotze
Pen:  Kotze 3
Yellow:  Larson (cynical offence — 40 mins), Coetzee (scrum offence — 40 mins), Bothma (high tackle — 50 mins)

Georgia:  15 Merab Kvirikashvili, 14 Tamaz Mchedlidze, 13 Davit Kacharava, 12 Merab Sharikadze, 11 Alexander Todua, 10 Lasha Malaguradze, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Mamuka Gorgodze (c), 7 Viktor Kolelishvili, 6 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili, 5 Konstantin Mikautadze, 4 Giorgi Nemsadze, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili.
Replacements:  16 Shalva Mamukashvili, 17 Karlen Asieshvili, 18 Anton Peikrishvili, 19 Levan Datunashvili, 20 Lasha Lomidze, 21 Giorgi Begadze, 22 Giorgi Aptsiauri, 23 Beka Tsiklauri.

Namibia:  15 Chrysander Botha, 14 David Philander, 13 Danie Van Wyk, 12 Darryl de la Harpe, 11 Russel van Wyk, 10 Theuns Kotze, 9 Eugene Jantjies, 8 Renaldo Bothma, 7 Tinus du Plessis, 6 Jacques Burger (c), 5 Tjiuee Uanivi, 4 PJ van Lill, 3 Raoul Larson, 2 Torsten Van Jaarsveld, 1 Johnny Redelinghuys.
Replacements:  16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Jaco Engels, 18 Johannes Coetzee, 19 Wian Conradie, 20 Rohan Kitshoff, 21 Johan Tromp, 22 Damian Stevens, 23 Heinrich Smit.

Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Romain Poite (France), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Tonga win Sandy Park thriller

Telusa Veainu and Jack Ram scored two tries apiece as Tonga saw off Namibia 35-21 in an entertaining game at Sandy Park on Tuesday.

Coming in at the last minute, Veainu got Tonga off the mark after just five minutes, with Ram following that up inside the first 15 minutes.

Johan Tromp pulled one back for Namibia but Tonga were in control at half-time leading 22-7 after a try from Latiume Fosita.

Ram's second gave them the bonus point early in the second half, before two Jacques Burger tries, either side of Veainu's second, in an exciting encounter in Exeter.

The win takes Tonga up to second in the group, although with the games to come against Argentina and New Zealand, they remain long shots to reach the quarter-finals.

Namibia, meanwhile, are still chasing their first-ever World Cup win, but will have taken heart from a second impressive display in quick succession, following Thursday's valiant loss to the All Blacks.

The game started at a frantic pace, and Tonga took full advantage with an opening try after just five minutes from Veainu.  Only included the last minute due to the withdrawal of Fetu'u Vainikolo, the Rebels winger collecting Fosita's inside ball before slicing through and showing his power to race over from halfway.  Vunga Lilo converted to make it 7-0.

They quickly had their second, earning a couple of penalties at scrum-time before kicking into the 22 for an attacking lineout.  Spotting some weak maul defence, Ram peeled off and sprinted over despite the attentions of Renaldo Bothma.

Despite Lilo's missed conversion, it looked like a stroll in the park for Tonga, but Namibia came straight back into it, benefiting from some nonchalance from their opponents.  After Fosita was charged down from the restart, Sila Puafisi then knocked the ball on just outside his own 22, with Tjiuee Uanivi collecting and delivering the scoring pass for Tromp.  Theuns Kotzè added the simple conversion.

Tonga were soon over again though, with Fosita showing sensational hands to finish from close range.  After a clever move off the back of a lineout, Joe Tuineau's pass rolled across the ground but Fosita collected on the run and dotted down for the try.

The second half began in similar fashion to the first, as Veainu produced a searing break, this time setting up Ram for his second try.  After collecting Kotzè's deep kick, Veainu spotted a gap in the chasing defence and went straight through before finding Ram outside him for the easy finish.

With that try, the bonus point was sewn up but Namibia fought back and scored their second try through their skipper Burger, just managing to get over the line after a strong maul.  Kotzè slotted the touchline conversion to make it a two-score game once more.

Still, in Veainu, Tonga had the most dangerous player on the pitch, and after some good work from Siale Piutau, Ram turned provider with a wide pass to the winger, who showed his pace to get away on the left and score his second.  Lilo missed the conversion but Tonga led 32-14.

Namibia weren't done yet though, and with quarter of an hour remaining Burger added his second, again off the back of a rolling maul, with Tonga nowhere in defence on this occasion.

Kotzè's conversion made it 32-21, but Kurt Morath, off the bench, slotted a penalty with eight minutes to go to push the lead back to 14 points, becoming his country's record points scorer in the process.

Namibia had their chances to score again, but couldn't find a way through, with a couple of knock-ons at the lineout late on, and it was Tonga who held on for the win.

Man of the match:  Jack Ram was outstanding, but Telusa Veainu was in a different class.  Almost unstoppable when he got the ball in space, he scored two and made another for Ram in a brilliant display.

Moment of the match:  There were some cracking tries, but the best of the lot was Veainu's effort that was disallowed just before half-time.  With no space to work in, Veainu put in an acrobatic dive and dotted down as the rest of his body was being bundled into touch.  Unfortunately he used his left hand to keep his balance and just clipped the touchline with it as the ball was placed on the try-line.

Villain of the match:  No nasty business to report.

The scorers:

For Namibia:
Tries:  Tromp, Burger 2
Cons:  Kotze 3

For Tonga:
Tries:  Veainu 2, Ram 2, Fosita
Cons:  Lilo 2
Pens:  Lilo, Morath

The teams:

Namibia:  15 Chrysander Botha, 14 Johan Tromp, 13 Danie Van Wyk, 12 Johan Deysel, 11 Russel Van Wyk, 10 Theuns Kotze, 9 Eneill Buitendag, 8 Renaldo Bothma, 7 Rohan Kitshoff, 6 Jacques Burger (c), 5 Tjiuee Uanivi, 4 Janco Venter, 3 Johannes Coetzee, 2 Torsten Van Jaarsveld, 1 Casper Viviers.
Replacements:  16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Johnny Redelinghuys, 18 AJ De Klerk, 19 Tinus Du Plessis, 20 PJ Van Lill, 21 Damian Stevens, 22 Darryl De La Harpe, 23 David Philander.

Tonga:  15 Vungakoto Lilo, 14 David Halaifonua, 13 Siale Piutau (co-captain), 12 Sione Piukala, 11 Telusa Veainu, 10 Latiume Fosita, 9 Sonatane Takulua, 8 Viliami Ma'afu (co-captain), 7 Jack Ram, 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Joseph Tuineau, 4 Hale T Pole, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Aleki Lutui, 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements:  16 Paula Ngauamo, 17 Tevita Mailau, 18 Halani Aulika, 19 Tukulua Lokotui, 20 Opeti Fonua, 21 Samisoni Fisilau, 22 Kurt Morath, 23 Will Helu.

Venue:  Sandy Park, Exeter
Referee:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

All Blacks ease past Namibia

New Zealand produced a clinical display as they cruised past a valiant Namibia 58-14 at the Olympic Stadium on Thursday.

In the first meeting between the two teams, there was only ever going to be one winner, and the All Blacks were thoroughly professional as they downed their overmatched opponents scoring nine tries in total.

However, the loudest cheer of the evening went to Namibia centre Johan Deysel, as he scored their first try of the tournament ten minutes into the second-half.

New Zealand had five tries by half-time, with Sonny Bill Williams stealing the limelight with some delightful offloads and Nehe Milner-Skudder grabbing two tries.

Victor Vito had got them on their way with the first try, while Malakai Fekitoa and Beauden Barrett also crossed as Namibia had little answer to the world champions.

The second-half gave Julian Savea the chance to end his try-scoring drought in black, scoring his first Test try of 2015, although the All Black winger still looks worryingly short of form despite a second try late on.

Ben Smith also crossed after coming off the bench and Codie Taylor scored with the final play of the game, but Steve Hansen will have been disappointed with the lack of accuracy from his side in the second-half as they allowed their standards to drop considerably, while Barrett's goal-kicking was inconsistent.

It didn't take long for New Zealand to exert their dominance, with an early penalty from in front from Barrett giving them a 3-0 lead after four minutes.

And a minute later they were over for their first try, Savea breaking down the left and two phases later Vito finding enough space to get over in the same corner.  Barrett converted from the touchline to make it 10-0 to the world champions.

It was a sign of things to come and after another Vito break Milner-Skudder made up for a sloppy performance against Argentina with a fine finish for New Zealand's second.  Collecting the wide ball from Fekitoa he easily stepped inside Deysel and dived over, although Barrett couldn't convert from the opposite touchline.

Namibia got on the board just before the quarter-hour however, when Ben Franks was penalised for holding on, allowing Theuns Kotzè to slot three points from just over 40 metres out.

That brought a huge cheer, and it was nearly matched a few minutes later when an All Black lineout five metres out was stolen by Tjuee Uanivi, allowing them to clear their lines.

New Zealand were just too big, too strong and too quick, and they had a third try on the board after 20 minutes.  Williams shrugged off a couple of tackles after taking Barrett's pop pass.  He was finally stopped short of the line but produced a trademark offload to give Fekitoa the easiest of finishes.  With Barrett's conversion, the All Blacks led 22-3.

That soon became 22-6 when Charlie Faumuina rushed up too quickly in defence, allowing Kotzè to slot his second penalty of the evening.

But New Zealand came back again, and had their bonus point after just half an hour, Barrett spotting a huge gap in midfield and sprinting straight through before showing his pace to go under the posts.  He converted his own try to make it 29-6.

Namibia could have had a try just before the break, but David Philander couldn't hold onto Colin Slade's loose pass, knocking on with no cover in behind.

Instead it was New Zealand who had the final word of the half, breaking through in midfield, and after Fekitoa had been stopped just short, the ball was spread wide for Milner-Skudder to grab his second.  Barrett missed the conversion but New Zealand led 34-6 at the break.

Despite the one-sided nature of the scoreboard, Namibia continued to take shots at goal when they had the chance and Kotzè slotted his third penalty of the night to open the scoring in the second-half.

New Zealand had their sixth try soon after though, with Savea crossing for a morale-boosting score.  Having struggled for form so far in 2015, he showed his power to crash through in midfield, and after being stopped just short, he reached out and placed the ball on the line.  The All Blacks had decided to switch Slade and Barrett between full-back and fly-half at the break, and the former also took on kicking duties, slotting the simple conversion.

Having scored three penalties, Namibia decided to kick their next opportunity to the corner, and it paid dividends with their first try of the evening.  A clever lineout move saw Torsten van Jaarsveld crash it up in midfield and after going right then back left, Deysel spun out of two tackles and powered his way over for the try.  That brought a massive cheer from the crowd although Kotzè's conversion was just off-target.

The Welwitschias were performing admirably, but just before the hour their task got a great deal harder.  After a string of attacks in the Namibian 22, Jaco Engels was caught killing the ball on his line, earning a yellow card from Romain Poite.

Namibia had actually outscored their illustrious opponents in the first 20 minutes of the second half, but the dam had to break eventually, and it was Smith, coming off the bench, who went over for their seventh try, although Barrett's touchline conversion was again wayward.

New Zealand lacked fluency in the final 20 minutes but did get over again through Savea, finishing with a low dive after the All Blacks had worked space on the left before Taylor finished the scoring following a stunning inside pass from Milner-Skudder.

Still, it was a respectable result for Namibia, who had been tipped to lose by a great deal more, and will take confidence heading into their next game against Tonga.

Man of the match:  It could have gone to Sonny Bill Williams but Nehe Milner-Skudder's final assist gets him the nod.  His step off his right foot is so hard to counter and he showed his finishing skills with two fine tries.

Moment of the match:  There's no question it was Johan Deysel's try for Namibia.  He slipped two men before bouncing off Malakai Fekitoa for a magical moment for the underdogs.

Villain of the match:  No nasty business to report.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Vito, Milner-Skudder 2, Fekitoa, Barrett, Savea 2, Smith, Taylor
Cons:  Barrett 4, Slade
Pen:  Barrett

For Namibia:
Try:  Deysel
Pens:  Kotzè 3
Yellow card:  Engels

The teams:

New Zealand:  15 Colin Slade, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ben Franks.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Tony Woodcock, 19 Kieran Read, 20 Richie McCaw, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Ma'a Nonu, 23 Ben Smith.

Namibia:  15 Johan Tromp, 14 David Philander, 13 JC Greyling, 12 Johan Deysel, 11 Conrad Marais, 10 Theuns Kotzè, 9 Eugene Jantjies, 8 Leneve Damens, 7 Tinus du Plessis, 6 Jacques Burger (capt), 5 Pieter-Jan van Lill, 4 Tjuee Uanivi, 3 Johannes Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Jaco Engels.
Replacements:  16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Casper Viviers, 18 Raoul Larson, 19 Renaldo Bothma, 20 Janco Venter, 21 Rohan Kitshoff, 22 Eneill Buitendag, 23 Chrysander Botha.

Venue:  The Stadium, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London
Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Mathieu Raynal (France)
Television match official:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Canada hold on against Namibia

Nanyak Dala's second-half try proved just enough for Canada as they hung on for a 17-13 win over Namibia in Colwyn Bay.

After going down to a Championship XV last week, the Canadians were pushed very hard by Namibia, for whom Jacques Burger scored late on.

Gordon McRorie was the star of the show in the first half for Canada, slotting two early penalties to make it 6-0.

Theuns Kotze hit back for Namibia with a penalty of his own, with both kickers adding a further three-pointer before the break to make it 9-6 to Canada at half-time, while Namibia were down to 14 after a sin-binning for flanker Rohan Kitshoff.

Another McRorie penalty early in the second half stretched the lead back to six, before flanker Dala grabbed his fourth Test try on the right after sustained pressure.

McRorie missed the conversion but Canada were in complete control leading 17-6.

They were not able to add to that score though, and with five minutes remaining, Saracens flanker Burger went over from a five-metre lineout and the conversion made it 17-13 with time running out.

Namibia couldn't find their way through for a winning score though, as Canada held on ahead of a clash with Samoa next weekend.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Try:  Dala
Pens:  McRorie 4

For Namibia:
Try:  Burger
Con:  Kotze
Pens:  Kotze 2
Yellow Cards:  Kitshoff

The teams:

Canada:  15 DTH van der Merwe, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Conor Trainor, 12 Ciaran Hearn, 11 Sean Duke, 10 Connor Braid, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 John Moonlight, 7 Nanyak Dala, 6 Kyle Gilmour, 5 Jebb Sinclair, 4 Tyler Hotson, 3 Jason Marshall, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Hubert Buydens (capt).
Replacements:  16 Doug Wooldridge, 17 Ryan Hamilton, 18 Jake Ilnicki, 19 Brett Buekeboom, 20 Aaron Carpenter, 21 Sean White, 22 Patrick Parfrey, 23 Jordan Wilson-Ross.

Namibia:  15 Chrysander Botha, 14 Danie Dames, 13 Darryl de la Harpe, 12 Johan Deysel, 11 David Philander, 10 Theuns Kotz

Namibia power past Germany

Namibia's national team, the Welwitchias, secured a convincing 58-20 victory over Germany in Windhoek on Wednesday.

The Welwitchias led 36-6 at the break.  Watched by 3000 spectators the match produced 11 tries, nine of which were scored by Namibia.

The hosts' centre Johan Deysel opened the scoring as early as the third minute after Namibia won a line-out on Germany's 22 and went through a number of phases before Deysel crossed.

Two penalties from Germany's fly-half Christopher Hilsenbeck gave the visitors a 6-5 lead on the 10 minute mark, but that was the last time Germany looked like winning the match.

Led by Western Province Currie Cup flanker Rohan Kitshoff, the Namibian pack dominated and secured quality possession for their backline and had too much pace for their opponents to cope with.

In the 11th minute try-scorer Deysel turned provider for left wing Johan Tromp who crossed for the second try of the match.

This was pretty much the trend for the remaining 25 minutes of the first half.  Namibia's forwards were in complete control with Germany finding the pace too hot to handle.

The Welwitchias added three more first half tries through their captain Kitshoff who scored back to back tries and Ryan de La Harpe.

The England based scrum-half dealt Germany a hammer blow just before the break when the visitors were on the attack but de le Harpe intercepted and ran 70 meters for the try.

Namibia started the second half in the same fashion as they did the first and when loose forward Thomasua Forbes and full-back Danie Dames both scored inside the first eight minutes of the second half, a record score looked a strong possibility.

The handy lead allowed Namibian coach Danie Vermeulen the opportunity to give his replacements bench a run.  This lead to the inevitable loss of momentum and the rest of the second half was pretty much uneventful.

Namibia reached the half century mark when left wing Tromp scored his second of the evening.

The next 20 minutes saw the German team playing with more composure and they were rewarded with two tries, the first by loose forward Kehoma Brenner after an impressive line-out drive and the second by their captain Sean Armstrong.

New cap JC Greyling scored Namibia's ninth try of the match four minutes before the end.  Germany were on the attack when the final whistle went, victory to Namibia and an important confidence booster before they leave for their three-match northern hemisphere tour this weekend.

The match was refereed by South Africa's Marius Jonker who after the final whistle confirmed that he had retired from first class refereeing and that this was his last match in charge.

The Scorers:

For Namibia:
Tries:  Johan Tromp 2, Rohan Kitshoff 2, Thomasua Forbes, Ryan de la Harpe, Danie Dames, JC Greyling
Cons:  Shawn Kaizemi 5
Pens:  Kaizemi

For Germany:
Tries:  Kehoma Brenner, Sean Armstrong
Cons:  Christoper Hilsenbeck 2
Pens:  Hilsenbeck 2

Wales canter past Namibia

Wales recovered from an indifferent second quarter to dispose of Namibia 81-7 in their Pool D encounter in New Plymouth.

The writing was on the wall when the Welsh notched up three tries inside the first twenty minutes, but the Namibians stood firm and it took another opening of the floodgates in the final quarter to see Wales really run away with it.

The early stages where marred by numerous handling errors from the Namibians, who put pressure on themselves as they failed to execute the basics.

Stephen Jones, playing in a Welsh record 101st Test, opened the scoring with a penalty before Scott Williams charged over for the first of his three tries in the seventh minute.

The score was set up by Leigh Halfpenny who came off his left wing to enter the line at pace, passing outside to Williams who outstripped the defence.

It was another mistake from the Namibians whilst on attack that gifted Wales their second try.  An errand pass on their opposition's 22m line, allowed Wales to counter-attack and Aled Brew was the man to round off the move.

Some clever work from Ryan Jones, taking a quick tap-penalty from 10m out, put number eight Toby Faletau over in the 17th minute.  But with Wales in a commanding 22-0, Namibia sprung to life.

Africa's minnows began to dominate at the breakdown, forcing the Welsh into conceding penalties as they struggled to adjust to the increased tempo from the men in blue.

A change in the front row, with prop Raoul Larson coming on for Johnny Redelinghuys at the end of the first quarter, gave Namibia renewed impetus in the scrums and in the loose.

Such was the effort of the Namibians, that they managed to keep the Welsh at bay for the remainder of the first half.

Williams added his second shortly after the break and three minutes later Gethin Jenkins scored a try to remember as the prop went on a 40m run, brushing off defender after defender before diving over for the score.

However, the Namibians refused to go down quietly and got on the scoreboard in fantastic fashion.

Lock Nico Esterhuyse intercepted the ball on halfway and burst through before offloading to his second-row partner Heinz Koll who gave a lovely little show of the ball on the inside only to sprint around the outside and dive over in the corner.

The scrums were a problem area throughout the night and in the 59th minute, referee Steve Walsh eventually lost his patience and sent Larson to the sin-bin.

Down to 14 men and with a flood of Welsh substitutes making their way to the field, the Namibian resistance was at last crushed for good.

Replacement winger George North made his presence known with a flurry of strong runs, and the youngster was rewarded for his efforts with two tries.

As was the case four days earlier against South Africa, Namibia had nothing left in the tank in the closing stages and near on all the Welsh backs got their name on the score sheet in the final throngs as they ran in seven tries in the final twenty minutes.

Man of the match:  The Namibian flankers Jacques Burger and Tinus Du Plessis were massive throughout despite having their backs up against it for 80 minutes.

Moment of the match:  Wales had all the running and as a result Heinz Koll's breakaway try brought a smile to the face and was a well-deserved reward for the Namibians.  A special mention to Stephen Jones who set a new record of appearances for Wales with a near-flawless kicking display.

Villain of the match:  Raoul Larson was carded after persistent infringements at scrum-time but in truth it could have been any member of either front rows to get sent to the bin.  It was a hard fought, but clean game.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  S Williams 3, Brew, Faletau, Jenkins, North 2, Davies, L Williams, Byrne, Wyn Jones
Cons:  S Jones 6, Preistland 3
Pens:  S Jones

For Namibia:
Tries:  Koll
Cons:  Kotze

Yellow cards:  Larson (Namibia)

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Tavis Knoyle, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Ryan Jones, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Craig Mitchell, 2 Lloyd Burns, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Luke Charteris, 19 Andy Powell, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 Rhys Preistland, 22 George North.

Namibia:  15 Chrysander Botha, 14 Danie Van Wyk, 13 Piet Van Zyl, 12 Darryl De La Harpe, 11 Danie Dames, 10 Theuns Kotze, 9 Eugene Jantjies, 8 Jacques Nieuwenhuis, 7 Jacques Burger (c), 6 Tinus Du Plessis, 5 Nico Esterhuyse, 4 Heinz Koll, 3 Jané Du Toit, 2 Hugo Horn, 1 Johnnie Redelinghuys.
Replacements:  16 Bertus O'Callaghan, 17 Raoul Larson, 18 Wacca Kazombiaze, 19 Rohan Kitshoff, 20 Ryan De La Harpe, 21 TC Losper, 22 David Philander.

Referee:  Steve Walsh

Twelve-try Springboks run riot

South Africa cruised to an emphatic 87-0 World Cup Pool A win over Namibia on Thursday.

Veteran wing Bryan Habana's first-half score saw him set a new Test try-scoring record for the Springboks, finally breaking Joost van der Westhuizen's long-standing benchmark.

The Namibian scrum was under the cosh from the start, meaning South Africa's backs had plenty of quality ball and the men in green and gold raced to a 31-0 lead at the break

The defending champions had the bonus point secured by half time thanks to tries from Gio Aplon, Habana, Jaque Fourie and a penalty try against the Namibian scrum.

Aplon added a second in after the restart while Francois Hougaard and Juan de Jongh both also touched down twice.

With the Namibian defence dead on their feet, the game turned into a try festival as Frans Steyn, Morné Steyn and Danie Rossouw added their names to the scorecard.

Aplon was the first man to cross the whitewash after Hougaard beat three defenders to put him clear, but the moment all of South Africa had been waiting for came on 22 minutes when Habana had an easy run-in to collect his 39th Test try.

With the Namibian scrum buckling, referee George Clancy raised his arms under the sticks for the Boks third try before a magic off-load from Frans Steyn's set Jaque Fourie free for number four.

The Racing Metro utility back was in the mix again to score South Africa's first try of the second period -- meaning Steyn has scored in all three of the Boks games in the tournament so far.

It was one-way traffic in the last quarter with seven tries being scored in the last twenty minutes.  Morne Steyn, and his replacement Ruan Pienaar, made sure that no points were left behind as they slotted all thirteen of their kicks at goal.

If ever there was any doubt about the Springboks' capacity to defend their title, the rout in Albany confirmed that they mean business.

Man of the match:  Hard to pick a single player because the Boks dominated all over the park.  The official award went to Willem Alberts, who didn't score but left plenty of Namibians bruised.  We'll go for Francois Hougaard however.  Something always seems to happen when he has the ball in hand as illustrated by his two tries.

Moment of the match:  Twelve tries to choose from but one had special significance.  Bryan Habana's record-breaking try was a long time in coming, but is just reward for a distinguished career.

Villain of the match:  N/A

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Aplon 2, Habana, penalty try, Fourie, F. Steyn, M. Steyn, De Jongh 2, Hougaard 2, Rossouw
Cons:  M. Steyn 6, Pienaar 6
Pen:  M. Steyn

South Africa:  15 Pat Lambie, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn , 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Willem Alberts, 5 Danie Rossouw, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Francois Louw, 19 Heinrich Brüssow, 20 Fourie du Preez, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Juan de Jongh.

Namibia:  15 Chrysander Botha, 14 Danie Dames, 13 Danie van Wyk, 12 Piet van Zyl, 11 Heine Bock, 10 Theuns Kotze, 9 Eugene Jantjies, 8 Jacques Nieuwenhuis, 7 Jacques Burger (c), 6 Tinus du Plessis, 5 Nico Esterhuyse, 4 Heinz Koll, 3 Marius Visser, 2 Bertus O'Callaghan, 1 Johnnie Redelinghuys.
Replacements:  16 Hugo Horn, 17 Jane du Toit, 18 PJ van Lill, 19 Rohan Kitshoff, 20 Ryan de la Harpe, 21 Darryl de la Harpe, 22 Conrad Marais.

Venue:  North Harbour Stadium, Albany
Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Tim Hayes (Wales)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Samoa open with a bang

Samoa got their Rugby World Cup campaign underway in emphatic fashion, after demolishing Namibia 49-12 at Rotorua International Stadium on Wednesday.

Samoa speedster Alesani Tuilagi bagged a hat-trick to help his team along to a comprehensive six-tries-to-two Pool D win.

The islanders simply had too much pace and power for the African minnows, with Wales, Fiji and the Springboks having been interested spectators of the performance.

The writing was on the wall for Namibia just 49 seconds into the match when scrum-half Kahn Fotuali'i went over for the opening try, converted by pivot Tusi Pisi.

Samoa hit double figures with a Pisi penalty, and it was 10-0 after ten minutes played.

Six minutes later, powerful wing Alesani Tuilagi used his pace to speed over for Samoa's second converted try after the islanders did the basics well with ball in hand.  The Tigers star still had some work to do out wide, but made it look easy.

Pisi followed up his conversion with another penalty and Samoa were smiling 20-0 up.

With half-time approaching, Tuilagi was over for his second and Samoa's third five-pointer thanks to a quick-tap from flank Maurie Faasavalu and quick hands by the Samoan back-line.  Tuilagi was once again left to work hard, but bounced off three would-be tacklers to score in the corner.

With Pisi off injured, full-back Paul Williams was unable to add the extras but Samoa were firmly in control heading into the break at 25-0 ahead.

Samoa ran into their first road block of the match when Williams was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle in the 39th minute of the match, but Namibia failed to make their advantage against 14 men count in the second half.

Williams returned to the fray and made up for his misdemeanor by slotting over a penalty for his team after Tuilagi was denied his hat-trick moments earlier with the ref ruling a forward pass.

However, Tuilagi wouldn't be denied the next time he got his hands on the ball just two minutes from the restart and raced in for Samoa's bonus point.  Williams converted to give the men in blue a 35-0 lead against the struggling Namibians.

Another superb break-out from Faasavalu ended in Samoa's fifth try of the afternoon -- this time Williams exposing some sloppy defence from Namibia for a converted touchdown (42-0).

Namibia finally woke up from their slumber and replied in style.  A catch off his own chip kick ahead by winger Llewellyn Winkler set up centre Danie van Wyk, before Namibia's second try saw fly-half Theuns Kotze stretch out under the posts.

But in between, Namibia flanker Rohan Kitshoff -- a late replacement for Jacques Nieuwenhuis -- was yellow-carded for repeated infringement, and Namibia's short-handed scrum gave up a penalty try to Samoa.

Man of the match:  Blockbusting wing Alesana Tuilagi signalled his star power with Samoa's first World Cup hat-trick, but it was exciting flank Maurie Faasavalu who really caught the eye without having to score a try.  He was just everywhere!

Moment of the match:  Fotuali'i's opening try with barely a minute up on the clock set the mood for the match.

Villains of the match:  There haven't been many so far at this year's showpiece.  But naughty, naughty Paul Williams and Rohan Kitshoff -- a yellow card each.

The scorers:

For Samoa:
Tries:  Fotuali'i, Tuilagi 3, Williams, Penalty try
Cons:  Pisi 2, Williams 3
Pens:  Pisi 2, Williams

For Namibia:
Tries:  Van Wyk, Kotze
Con:  Kotze

Samoa:  15 Paul Williams, 14 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 13 George Pisi, 12 Seilala Mapusua, 11 Alesani Tuilagi, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 George Stowers, 7 Maurie Faasavalu, 6 Taiasina Tuifua, 5 Kane Thompson, 4 Daniel Leo, 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Mahonri Schwalger (c), 1 Sakaria Taulafo.
Replacements:  16 Ti'i Paulo, 17 Census Johnston, 18 Joe Tekori, 19 Ofisa Treviranus, 20 Junior Poluleuligaga, 21 Eliota Sapolu Fuimaono, 22 Tasesa Lavea.

Namibia:  15 Chrysander Botha, 14 Danie Dames, 13 Danie van Wyk, 12 Piet van Zyl, 11 Llewellyn Winkler, 10 Theuns Kotze, 9 Eugene Jantjies, 8 Pieter Jan van Lill, 7 Jacques Burger (c), 6 Rohan Kitshoff;  5 Henk Franken, 4 Heinz Koll, 3 Raoul Larson, 2 Hugo Horn, 1 Johnnie Redelinghuys.
Replacements:  16 Bertus O'Callaghan, 17 Jane du Toit, 18 Nico Esterhuyse, 19 Reaud van Neel, 20 Ryan de la Harpe, 21 Darryl de la Harpe, 22 TC Losper.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)

Fiji run six past Namibia

Wing Vereniki Goneva scored four of Fiji's six tries to help beat Namibia 49-25 in a highly entertaining Rugby World Cup match on Saturday.

The brave Namibians can hold their heads up high after producing a more than competitive performance, leading twice in the early stages of the match.  However Fiji's attacking prowess was just too hot to handle in Rotorua.

Seremaia Bai added 19 points from the boot for the islanders, while former soldier Leone Nakarawa and Naipolioni Nalaga also added their name to Fiji's scoresheet.

Namibia pivot Theuns Kotze contributed 15 points, including a hat-trick of drop goals, while Heinz Koll and Chrysander Botha scored scintillating tries.

Despite their defeat, Namibia -- handed a World Cup record 142-0 thrashing by Australia eight years ago -- enjoyed their highest score and closest result in four appearances at rugby's biggest showpiece.

Orchestrated by Kotze, the Namibians took great satisfaction from keeping the tiring Flying Fijians on the defence for much of the second half in an engrossing spectacle at Rotorua International Stadium.

It was the boot of Kotze against Fiji's try-scoring genius in the first half as the number ten, starting just his second Test, nailed three drop-goals in just four minutes to put the 2007 quarter-finalists on the back foot.

But Sevens specialists Fiji dazzled with ball in hand and Goneva rampaged down the right-hand touchline for a first-half hat-trick alongside a lone effort from Nakarawa to make it 32-15 at half-time.

Namibia had denied Fiji possession for long periods of the first half and they burst through for a long-range first try after the break, with lock Heinz Koll finishing off a move from deep within their own half.

Fiji's Goneva hit back with his fourth score but Namibia ran in their second through full-back Chrysander Botha on 56 minutes, setting up a spell of heavy pressure with the scores at 39-25.

However, Bai put the game effectively out of reach with a penalty before left wing Naipolioni Nalaga crossed in the dying minutes.

Man of the match:  Vereniki Goneva.  Count 'em ... one, two, three, four.

Moment of the match:  Take your pic from any of the eight tries scored.

Villain of the match:  Thrilling match played in good spirits.

The scorers:

For Fiji:
Tries:  Goneva 4, Nakarawa, Nalaga
Cons:  Bai 4
Pens:  Bai 3

For Namibia:
Tries:Koll, Botha
Cons:  Kotze
Pens:Kotze 2
Drops:  Kotze 3

Fiji:  15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Gaby Lovobalavu, 12 Seremaia Bai, 11 Naipolioni Nalaga, 10 Waisea Sedre Luveniyali, 9 Nemia Kenatale, 8 Netani Edward Talei, 7 Mala Ravulo, 6 Dominiko Maiwiriwiri Waqaniburotu, 5 Wame Lewaravu, 4 Leone Nakarawa, 3 Deacon Manu (c), 2 Viliame Veikoso, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements:  16 Sunia Koto, 17 Waisea Nailago, 18 Seko Kalou, 19 Akapusi Qera, 20 Vitori Tomu Buatava, 21 Albert James Vulivuli, 22 Iliesa Lomani Rakuka Keresoni.

Namibia:  15 Chrysander Botha, 14 Danie Dames, 13 Danie Van Wyk, 12 Piet Van Zyl, 11 Conrad Marais, 10 Theuns Kotze, 9 Eugene Jantjies, 8 Jacques Nieuwenhuis, 7 Jacques Burger (c), 6 Tinus Du Plessis, 5 Nico Esterhuyse, 4 Heinz Koll, 3 Raoul Larson, 2 Hugo Horn, 1 Johnnie Redelinghuys.
Replacements:  16 Bertus O'Callaghan, 17 Jané Du Toit, 18 Pieter Jan van Lill, 19 Rohan Kitshoff, 20 Ryan De La Harpe, 21 Darryl De La Harpe, 22 Llewellyn Winkler.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)

Georgia ice the cake

Georgia nabbed their first-ever World Cup victory on Wednesday, beating Namibia 30-0 in a sub-standard game played in pouring rain in Lens.

The Georgians played to type, wearing down the Namibians in the heavy conditions, driving hooker Akvsenti Giorgadze over in the first half before finishing the deal with ten minutes to go by sending over wing Irakli Machkhaneli.

As expected, the battle between the basement boys of the Pool began in a full-blooded manner as the two packs sized each other up.

Late alterations to the Namibian XV saw coach Hakkies Husselman include Morne Shreuder and Jurie van Tonder ahead of Tertius Losper and Eugene Jantjies at half-back.

But it was the Georgians who struck first with centre Irakli Giorgadze piercing the Namibian midfield on seven minutes -- leading to a penalty -- that Merab Kvirikashvili slotted superbly in the pouring rain.

Because of the unfortunate weather, the Lens crowd immediately realised that tries were not going to be the flavour of the evening, as handling errors tainted the early stages.

But Georgia set about making sure that wasn't the case as the impressive Malkhaz Urjukashvili sparked the first of several attacks from full-back with a mazy run.

However, the Europeans were limited to shots at the minimum three points, which Kvirikashvili managed to land at the second time of asking.

With the lead now doubled to 6-0, Georgia continued to work the simple phases as they slowly acclimatised to the dreadful conditions.

And with half-an-hour on the clock, Namibia were finally handed their first opportunity of the game thanks to a Giorgi Shkinin mistake, but the penalty drifted wide of the uprights.

Georgia made their opponents pay and, as expected, the opening try came through the forward dominance.  Aksventi Giorgadze was the final man to his feet as the lead stretched to 13-0 on 38 minutes.

After the interval the first penalty opportunity came the way of Kvirikashvili, but the number ten missed by the smallest of margins.

However, Georgia continued to flex their physical dominance as the Africans desperately defended their line for an extended period of time.

Then the possession stakes began to even out as Namibia got a foothold just after the hour.

But it was short-lived as Georgia closed out the game with another Kvirikashvili penalty and intercept tries from Machkhaneli and Kacharava to record their debut win in the World Cup.

Man of the match:  The weather had no effect on full-back Malkhaz Urjukashvili, who was a constant thorn in the Namibian side.  In a match that could probably be described as an arm-wrestle, Urjukashvili combined solidity under the high ball with some exciting, enterprising rugby.

Moment of the match:  Not many moments to savour in a dour match at the Stade Félix Bollaert!  But the bruising tackle and steal from Irakli Machkhaneli before racing away to cement the win brightened up the sodden Lens crowd.

Villain of the match:  A game played in good spirit -- no villain.

The scorers:

For Georgia:
Tries:  Giorgadze, Machkhaneli, Kacharava
Cons:  Kvirikashvili 3
Pens:  Kvirikashvili 3

Georgia:  15 Malkhaz Urjukashvili, 14 Irakli Machkhaneli, 13 Davit Kacharava, 12 Irakli Giorgadze, 11 Giorgi Shkinin, 10 Merab Kvirikashvili, 9 Irakli Abuseridze (c), 8 Giorgi Chkhaidze, 7 Rati Urushadze, 6 Grigol Labadze, 5 Mamuka Gorgodze, 4 Levan Datunashvili, 3 David Zirakashvili, 2 Akvsenti Giorgadze, 1 Goderdzi Shvelidze.
Replacements:  16 David Khinchagashvili, 17 Avtandil Kopaliani, 18 Victor Didebulidze, 19 Besso Udesiani, 20 Bidzina Samkharadze, 21 Revaz Gigauri, 22 Besiki Khamashuridze.

Namibia:  15 Eugene Jantjies, 14 Ryan Witbooi, 13 Piet van Zyl, 12 Corne Powell, 11 Bradley Langenhoven, 10 Morne Schreuder, 9 Eugene Jantjies, 8 Tinus du Plessis, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Jacques Nieuwenhuis, 5 Heino Senekal, 4 Wacca Kazombiaze, 3 Marius Visser, 2 Hugo Horn, 1 Kees Lensing (c).
Replacements:  16 Johannes Meyer, 17 Johnny Redelinghuys, 18 Jane du Toit, 19 Nico Esterhuize, 20 Jurie van Tonder, 21 Melrick Africa, 22 Morne Schreuder.

Referee:  Steve Walsh
Touch judges:  Malcolm Changleng, Paul Marks
Television match official:  Federico Cuesta
Assessor:  Michel Lamoulie

Argentina almost there

Argentina have one foot in the quarter-finals of the World Cup after crushing Namibia 63-3 in Marseille on Saturday, scoring nine tries to nil.

The Pumas took a while to hit their rhythm, but late in the first half the tries started to flow, and from then on it was one-way traffic, with the Argentinians running in a second-half welter of tries through the backs.

Moreover, they remain the only side at the World Cup that has yet to concede a try.

Argentina now face Ireland knowing the Irish must both score four tries and deny the Pumas a losing bonus-point to progress to the play-offs;  anything less from the Irish and the Argentinians will be through to the quarter-finals.

Argentina believe that the wider rugby world does not regard them as one the 'top tier' nations, but they certainly looked the part for the first 20 minutes of this match -- they seemed strangely vulnerable to the snap of a minnow.

But unlike some of the more established rugby-playing nations -- the Englands and Irelands of this world, if we must name names -- Argentina boast plenty of shrewd operators and used their brains to right their lilting ship.

And so with a sail tightened here and a knot loosened there, it became plain-sailing for the men from South America.

Namibia drew first blood -- their only points of the match -- after Argentina infringed in defence.  Morne Schreuder, a late replacement for Tertius Losper, slotted the ensuing penalty.

Felipe Contepomi replied with a penalty of his own moments later, but that predicted try-fest was still conspicuous by its absence.

With running options limited by Namibia's tenacious tacklers, Contepomi sent a telepathic message to his twin brother and chipped through the lines.  Manuel sneaked through but lost control of the ball at the vital moment and the Kelvin Deaker, the man with the remote, disallowed the try.

Poor handling then became all the rage, with butterfingers butchering a number of Argentine attacks.

With the free-flowing stuff failing to materialise, Argentina's canny skipper Agustín Pichot decided to tweak tactics by asking his forwards to deliver what his backs could not.

The big men responded well, breaching Namibia's defence with a surging maul in the 26th minute of the game.  Rodrigo Roncero was awarded the try, but the effort was spirited up by the community of forwards.

Juan Manuel Leguizamón added Argentina second try after an equally muscular piece of foreplay.  It was powerful five-metre scrum that did the damage this time, and Namibia's loose forwards were unable to impeded the London Irish star's drive from the base.

Sitting pretty on the cushion of two tries, the Pumas decided to stretch their legs once again -- and this time passes began to stick.

Manuel Contepomi made up for his earlier fumble by punctuating a flowing move by scoring in the corner, and Argentina went to the break with a 25-3 lead in their pocket and just one try away from that vital bonus point.

The Namibians made it patently obvious that they would not make things easy for their neighbours from across the South Atlantic by raising their game early in the second half.

A series of splendid rolling mauls put Argentina in reverse, but the South Americans trumped that with a piece of first-phase brilliance.

Pichot fed Felipe Contepomi off the back of an innocuous scrum outside Namibia's 22, and the Leinster star opened a hole in the defence by feinting inside and out.  The gatemen of the gap could only gawk at each other as the surgeon knifed between them to collect Argentina's all-important four try.

Job done.  But the Pumas did not feel the need to clock off early.

A trademark run from Leguizamón spawned his second and Argentina's fifth, and he was soon followed over the line by his club colleague, Gonzalo Tiesi.

Ignacio Corleto then got on the end of a fine phase of inter-passing to score, and the game -- as a contest -- was over.

But credit to Namibia for refusing to throw in the towel, even after referee Stuart Dickinson awarded a penalty try for a popped scrum on their line.

Argentina's top cats were then wrapped in cotton-wool in preparation for next Sunday's date with Ireland in Paris, and it was left to their understudies to hammer the final nails home.

The massacre was duly completed by replacement fly-half Federico Todeschini who linked up well with Tiesi for Argentina's ninth and final try.

It was a nice moment for Todeschini.  The Montpellier pivot had feared that he might be sent home after he picked up an injury early in the tournament, and his mates acknowledged his scoring return with big smiles -- smiles that will send shivers down Irish spines.

Man of the match:  The Namibians played with heart but were thoroughly outgunned in all facets of play, with wing Deon Mouton engineering the only moments of relative danger.  Argentina's sublime halfback combo of Felipe Contepomi and Agustín Pichot orchestrated this win, but we'll hand our award to Juan Manuel Leguizamón whose work from the base of the scrum broke Namibia's resolve and kept his side on the front foot.

Moment of the match:  Perhaps Argentina's fourth try, not so much for its bonus-point appeal but for the moment of individual magic from Felipe Contepomi.

Villain of the match:  Not a naughty moment in the whole game -- no award.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Roncero, Leguizamón 2, M Contempomi, F Contempomi, Tiesi, Corleto, Penalty try, Todeschini
Cons:  Contempomi 4, Todeschini 2
Pens:  Felipe Contempomi 2

For Namibia:
Pen:  Schreuder

Argentina:  15 Ignacio Corleto, 14 Hernán Senillosa, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Manuel Contepomi, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 9 Agustín Pichot (c), 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 7 Juan Martín Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Lucas Ostiglia, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Carlos Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 3 Omar Hasan, 2 Alberto Vernet Basualdo, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Mario Ledesma, 17 Juan Martín Scelzo, 18 Rimas Álvarez Kairelis, 19 Gonzalo Longo, 20 Nicolás Fernandez Miranda, 21 Federico Todeschini, 22 Federico Serra Miras.

Namibia:  15 Heini Bock, 14 Deon Mouton, 13 Du Preez Grobler, 12 Corne Powell (c), 11 Melrick Africa, 10 Morne Schreuder, 9 Eugene Jantjies, 8 Tinus du Plessis, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Michael MacKenzie, 5 Nico Esterhuize, 4 Wacca Kazombiaze, 3 Marius Visser, 2 Johannes Meyer, 1 Johnny Redelinghuys.
Replacements:  16 Hugo Horn, 17 Kees Lensing, 18 Herman Lindvelt, 19 Heino Senekal, 20 Jurie van Tonder, 21 Bratley Langenhoven, 22 Piet van Zyl.

Referee:  Stuart Dickinson
Touch judges:  Simon McDowell, Carlo Damasco
Television match official:  Kelvin Deaker
Assessor:  Stuart Beissel