New Zealand vs Namibia LIVE: Rugby World Cup result and reaction as All Blacks dominate in Toulouse
New Zealand 71-3 Namibia: All Blacks bounce back from France loss by hammering Namibia
New Zealand shook off any lingering negative thoughts from their opening round defeat to France by hammering Namibia in Toulouse to get their first victory of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Ian Foster’s men started as they meant to go on with Cam Roigard, making his World Cup debut, finishing off a wonderfully sharp and slick move to get over the line with one minute gone on the clock. The No. 9 added a second try to his tally five minutes later as New Zealand showed just how they intended to play this match.
They wanted a big total and got one. 11 tries were scored in total with Damian McKenzie (x2), Leicester Fainga’anuku, Anton Lienert-Brown, Ethan de Groot, Dalton Papali’i, David Havili, Caleb Clarke and Rieko Ioane driving the All Blacks to a comfortable 71-3 victory.
It wasn’t a perfect night for New Zealand though as De Groot was shown a red card with the TMO bunker upgrading his initial yellow after reviewing the incident late in the game.
Relive all the action from the Stadium de Toulouse below.
New Zealand vs Namibia team news
There are nine changes to the starting line-up from New Zealand’s opening loss to France with Nepo Laulala, Sam Whitelock, Dalton Papali’i, Ardie Savea, Beauden Barrett and Anton Lienert-Brown retaining their places. Whitelock will equal Richie McCaw as the most capped All Black in test history in his 148th match. He trails only Alun Wyn Jones (171) as the most capped player in world rugby.
All Blacks captain Sam Cane withdrew from the match versus France through injury as Ian Foster was forced into a back-row reshuffle that included an unexpected start for Tupou Vaa’i. Cane will miss out again this week, with centre Jordie Barrett, prop Tyrel Lomax and flanker Shannon Frizell also sidelined. Barrett is back in training after a knee problem, but is unlikely to be risked against Namibia with tougher games to come.
Namibia head coach Allister Coetzee has made only three changes to his starting XV from their last game against Italy, handing Jason Benade and Prince Gaoseb a start in the forward pack with Le Roux Malan slotting into the backline.
How to watch New Zealand vs Namibia
New Zealand vs Namibia is due to kick off at 8pm BST on Friday 15 September at the Stadium de Toulouse.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on ITV4, with coverage on the channel from 7.15pm BST. Registered users can also stream the action via ITVX.
New Zealand vs Namibia
Good evening and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s Rugby World Cup action.
New Zealand face Namibia in Pool A needing to win to properly get their campaign going following an opening day defeat to the tournament hosts France.
The All Blacks were beaten 27-13 by Les Bleus who scored two second half tries to take the game away from Ian Foster’s team. That defeat leaves them third in Pool A but they have the chance to move up the table if they can sweep Namibia aside tonight.
For their part, Namibia were well beaten by Italy who trounced them 52-8 in the first week of fixtures. The African side will be hoping for a better showing tonight but New Zealand are notoriously difficult to beat and should prove to be too strong for them.
We’ll have all the team news and updates throughout the evening so stick around.
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