Maqonda Ndlovu
Namibia coach Allister Coetzee has made three changes to the Welwitschias starting XV for their tough encounter against New Zealand tonight.
Jason Benade, Prince Gaoseb and Le Roux Malan
are the three players who will start the match for
Namibia against a wounded All Blacks team that
lost 27-13 to host France in the opening match of this
year’s World Cup. Earlier this week, coach Coetzee
said the All Blacks are “one hell of a challenge” but
said his side wants to earn respect.
“We have to go in there and be very good and smart about our basics. The players know that we have to be very competitive, and if we get a chance, we must convert them,” he said.
Coetzee said there is no reason to dwell too much on the past, and as a team, they looked at the positives from Italy’s game.
He said that as a team, they want to be as good as they can as they are playing one of the top sides in rugby.
“The big thing for me is to make sure that belief stays in the team; believe in our systems and what we planned. We have to execute our plan better. When we throw punches and they put pressure on us, we must have a counterpunch,” he added.
This will be the third time in as many Rugby World Cups that New Zealand and Namibia meet 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.
For Namibia, there are eight survivors in the match-day team from the last time Namibia played New Zealand at Rugby World Cup 2019, with Johan Coetzee, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Tjiuee Uanivi, Johan Retief, Prince Gaoseb, Damian Stevens, JC Greyling, and captain Johan Deysel all named.
Meanwhile, All Blacks coach Ian Forster has made nine changes to his side as they seek to kick-start their World Cup challenge following their shock defeat last week.