- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The All Blacks get their second win of the Rugby World Cup against a plucky Namibia.
They didn’t have it all their own way against the determined Africans, but New Zealand didn’t really need to get out of second gear.
FULL ALL BLACKS VS NAMIBIA MATCH REPORT
Some flashes of brilliant play but the All Blacks never really put their foot on Namibia’s throat. Plenty for the tournament favourites to work on.
Final Score:
New Zealand 58
Namibia 14
Defending champions New Zealand meet African nation Namibia in their second match of the Rugby World Cup. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from from 5.00am (AEDT).
The All Blacks got off to a winning, but a tad rusty, start to the tournament against Argentina at Wembley.
They needed some second-half subs, and the brilliance of Aaron Smith, to eventually overpower the proud Pumas. This game will be a lot easier than the opener with the victory a mere formality.
New Zealand will want to improve their discipline, which saw two players yellow-carded against Argentina, and their ball-handling. They blew several attacking opportunities on Sunday.
Plucky Namibia, neighbours to South Africa, could be on the end of a very big hiding. The All Blacks will be out to send a message to the rest of the tournament that despite their wobble against the Pumas, they are still a force to be reckoned with.
Underestimate them at your peril.
The minnows have performed admirably at this World Cup but Namibia would have to do the unthinkable to topple the Kiwis in this one.
The mostly amateur Namibians don’t have the skills or class to match the All Blacks.
They have farmers, engineers and a dentist in their ranks and are the lowest ranked team in the World Cup.
Half of their team played at home while the other half play in Europe or in South Africa.
Namibia only has 1200 adult males who play rugby in the country.
This is one of the most lopsided match-ups in any World Cup or any sport. Namibia has claimed they are much better prepared coming into this tournament, so let’s hope this is the case. An All Black win by 150 points or more does little for anybody.
New Zealand has made 12 changes for this game as Steve Hansen rotates his troops. Flanker Sam Cane, who is just 23, will captain the All Blacks for the first time.
Remaining from the Pumas contest are wings Julian Savea and Nehe Milner-Skudder and second-row Sam Whitelock.
I’m tipping a potential 90-point, or more, win for the men in black. The Wallabies thrashed Namibia 142-0 in 2003, a tournament record.
The Kiwis could do the same, or worse. Join The Roar from 5.00am (AEDT) for the live blog.
Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.