After an opening day defeat to tournament hosts France, New Zealand now turn their attention to African minnows Namibia, who they'll take on at the Stadium Municipal on Friday evening.
New Zealand v Namibia
Friday 15 September
Stadium Municipal
New Zealand *TBA | Draw 66/1| Namibia 33/1
The assignment is simple for the Kiwis who will take to the field on Saturday: prove that you can add depth to the match day 23 and apply the pressure on the starters who struggled in the final hour of their clash with the French.
While the All Blacks will make a raft of changes to the side that lost 27-13, that should be of little solace to Namibia who will be facing a very talented and fired-up side. The likes of Damien McKenzie, Leicester Fainga’anuku, Caleb Clarke, David Havili, Dane Coles, Fletcher Newell and Ofa Tu’ungafasi are set to feature in the matchday 23. There could also be space for Ethan Blackadder who was called up to the squad as a replacement for the injured Emoni Narawi.
While the Kiwis will ring the replacements, Namibia are likely to start a similar side to the one that lost 52-8 to Italy. They were decent value for most of their clash with the Azzurri but they dropped off late in the second-half conceding, a handful of late tries.
I know the handicap is a big one but this is likely to be a very attack-minded Kiwi outfit. I’m expecting a flurry of second half tries to see the All Blacks pass the handicap.
Verdict: New Zealand (-69.5) 9/10
