A week after their 27-13 defeat against France in the tournament opener at Stade de France, the All Blacks will have a point to prove against Namibia in Toulouse on Friday, as the two sides meet for a third time in Rugby World Cups.
Coach Ian Foster has made nine starting line-up changes for New Zealand’s second match of the tournament, with Nepo Laulala, Sam Whitelock, Dalton Papali’i, Ardie Savea, Beauden Barrett and Anton Lienert-Brown all retaining their places.
Namibia's 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, and Le Roux Malan in the backline
Namibia opened their Rugby World Cup 2023 account with a 52-8 defeat against Italy in Saint-Étienne – a match the Welwitschias’ captain Johan Deysel described as “a great game to learn from”.
Head coach Alister Coetzee has named his squad to face New Zealand in Stadium de Toulouse on Friday, bringing in prop Jason Benade, flanker Prince Gaoseb and centre Le Roux Malan to his starting XV.
How much they learned in eastern France may well become clear on Friday night in the south-west of the country. The good news for both teams is that it's going to be noticeably cooler in Toulouse on Thursday night than the last time they walked out onto a rugby pitch in France.
This will be the third time in as many Rugby World Cups that New Zealand and Namibia have met in the pool phase. The All Blacks have won comfortably both times – 58-14 at London’s Olympic Stadium in 2015, and 71-9 at Tokyo Stadium four years ago.
Teams:
All Blacks: 1 Ofa Tuungafasi, 2 Samisoni Taukei'aho, 3 Nepo Laulala, 4 Brodie Retallick, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 6 Luke Jacobson, 7 Dalton Papali'i, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 9 Cam Roigard, 10 Damian McKenzie, 11 Leicester Fainga'anuku, 12 David Havili, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 14 Caleb Clarke, 15 Beauden Barrett. 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: 1 Jason Benade, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 3 Johan Coetzee, 4 Johan Retief, 5 Tjiuee Uanivi, 6 Wian Conradie, 7 Prince Gaoseb, 8 Richard Hardwick, 9 Damian Stevens, 10 Tiaan Swanepoel, 11 Divan Rossouw, 12 Le Roux Malan, 13 Johan Deysel (c), 14 Gerswin Mouton, 15 Cliven Loubser. 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.