All Blacks sprint past Namibia with second-half blitz

A 47-point second half gave New Zealand a blowout 71-9 win over Namibia in Tokyo on Sunday afternoon. While the result was never in doubt, for much of the first half the All Blacks were far from their invincible selves as Namibia stayed within on score until the halftime whistle.

It was Namibia who snuck over the first points as they took the ball to New Zealand, with Damian Stevens slotting the kick without much fuss. The All Blacks fired back with a try for Sevu Reece but for the 15 minutes that followed the Namibians were very much in the fight and kept New Zealand scoreless.

A try finally came for Anton Lienert-Brown on the counter-attack. Stevens appeared to deflect Jordie Barrett’s conversion attempt to leave it at just 10 points for the All Black. Namibia weren’t far behind with a response, however, as Stevens knocked over his second and third in short order to make it a one-point game at the half-hour mark.

Nepo Laulala was called to account for a swinging arm tackle that connected with the head of a Namibian player and summarily landed him in the bin. Despite being shorthanded for the remainder of the half, New Zealand would score twice as Sevu Reece raced free and then Ben Smith crossed to make it a more comfortable 24-9 score at the intermission.

The second half would have many similarities to New Zealand’s match against Canada. Four tries within 15 minutes blew up the scoreboard and the Namibians struggled to keep up the pace. Joe Moody was over in just two minutes, followed by Lienert-Brown and Reece with their doubles. Sam Whitelock scored from close range and Smith got his second.

Another yellow card, almost identical to the first, was issued to Ofa Tu’ungafasi. Again the numerical disadvantage was hardly noticed as the All Blacks would add two more tries in the dying moments of the match. Jordie Barrett, now shifted to the wing, got one for himself while TJ Perenara, now playing flyhalf, started and finished a spectacular effort down the left side.

The All Blacks will close out their pool stage against Italy in Toyota next Saturday before turning their eyes to the Quarter Finals. Namibia will have their best shot at a first ever World Cup victory when they take on Canada in Kamaishi on Sunday.

 

SCORING

NEW ZEALAND 71
Tries – S. Reece 2 (6’, 52’), A. Lienert-Brown 2 (21’, 47’), A. Ta’avao (35’), B. Smith 2 (40’, 68’), J. Moody (42’), S. Whitelock (55’), J. Barrett (76’), T. Perenara (78’)
Cons – J. Barrett 8/11 (36’, 40’, 43’, 48’, 53’, 56’, 69’, 77’)
Yellw cards – N Laulala (31’), O. Tu’ungafasi (72’)

NAMIBIA 9
Pens – D. Stevens 3/3 (3’, 26’, 30’)

 

TEAMS

NEW ZEALAND
1 Joe Moody (17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi 54’), 2 Codie Taylor (16 Dane Coles 51’), 3 Nepo Laulala (18 Angus Ta’avao 40’), 4 Brodie Retallick (19 Patrick Tu’ipulotu 31’), 5 Sam Whitelock (capt.), 6 Shannon Frizell, 7 Sam Cane (18 Angus Ta’avao 32’-40’), 8 Ardie Savea (20 Matt Todd 61’), 9 Aaron Smith (21 Brad Weber 51’), 10 Jordie Barrett, 11 George Bridge, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 13 Jack Goodhue (23 Rieko Ioane 61’), 14 Sevu Reece (22 TJ Perenara 66’), 15 Ben Smith

NAMIBIA
1 André Rademeyer (17 Nelius Theron 75’), 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld (16 Obert Nortjé 66’), 3 AJ de Klerk (18 Aranos Coetzee HT), 4 PJ van Lill (19 Johan Retief 17’), 5 Tjiuee Uanivi, 6 Prince Gaoseb, 7 Thomasau Forbes (20 Adriaan Booysen 4’-8’, 61’), 8 Janco Venter, 9 Damian Stevens (21 Eugene Jantjies 66’), 10 TC Kisting, 11 JC Greyling (23 Janry du Toit 51’), 12 Johan Deysel (capt.) (22 Darryl de la Harpe 57’), 13 Justin Newman, 14 Lesley Klim, 15 Johann Tromp

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France)
Assistants: Shuhei Kobo (Japan) & Luke Pearce (England)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)

 

Attendance: 48,354