We will have to wait a little longer to see Namibia’s first victory in a Rugby World Cup. For its 23rd match in a World Cup, Saturday September 9 in Saint-Etienne, the Welwitschias suffered a crushing 23rd defeat in a row, this time against Italy (52 to 8).
The Namibians had however started their Saint-Etienne afternoon well, by scoring the first points of the game. But things quickly became complicated for them: their hooker was penalized with a yellow card in the 10th minute for a foul on an Italian carried ball which was heading towards the goal. While powerful, Lorenzo Cannone immediately took advantage of it to score the first try of the game. A handful of minutes later, Paolo Garbisi, slipping through a gaping hole in the Namibian defense, scored the Azzurri’s second try under the poles, in the 15th minute.
The Namibians, however, did not come to be spectators of their own game. After a very classic but very effective percussion phase near the Italian goal line, the Namibian opener fired a long pass to his winger Gerswin Mouton, who spun to flatten. No sooner had he got back on his feet than all his teammates rushed to congratulate him as if they had won the match.
In the process, the Namibians delivered a rather decent performance: at half-time, they had more of the ball than the Italians and spent more time in the opposing camp. The Italians, rather disappointing, failed to take advantage of their clear physical superiority and the brittleness of the Namibian defense (20% missed tackles).
Namibia collapse in second half
Returning from the locker room, the Italians showed more power and determination. After they charged down the opposition line, massive Italian second-line Dino Lamb came behind the line for the first try of the newcomer to the Italian team, born in England and selected in the past with the young people of the XV de la Rose.
When the hour came, the difference in level between the Italian selection and their opponents came to light. Taking advantage of blunt Namibians, the Italians were able to accelerate. After an offensive launched from his own camp, Ange Capuozzo sped towards the test. A one-two with one of his partners and the Italian trained in Grenoble acrobatically dove into the goal, allowing his team to make a definitive difference and recover a precious offensive bonus point.
At the end of the match, the Namibians tried a final rebuff, settling in the Italian camp and developing in particular a carried ball which mobilized almost all the players of the team. Without success.
Then came the deluge in the Namibian camp. Exhausted, the African players could do nothing to prevent Hame Faiva (74th), Manuel Zuliani (78th) and finally Paolo Odogwu (82nd) ??from scoring their try. The Italians, future opponents of the Blues, have successfully entered the competition, their main objective being to finish in third place in the group, synonymous with direct qualification for the next World Cup.
Today’s rout is hardly surprising for Namibia, whose team is, with Chile, the lowest ranked of the nations involved in the World Cup in the World Rugby rankings. Some Namibians are amateur players. “Some had to change jobs because they could not benefit from a month’s leave from their employer” to participate in the World Cup in France, their coach, Alister Coetzee, revealed during the week. Only three players play in major championships (against the entire Italian team). We even saw the entry onto the field of Casper Viviers, a pillar playing in Fédérale 3, the seventh French division.
After the match, the Namibian coach returned to the difference between his team and the best nations. “We were present for fifty minutes, but against a team of the world elite there is always a stake in conquest. They were superior in the mauls, in the scrum. They are also superior in terms of physical condition. Italy play more than ten games per season, we are lucky if we play eight over a period of four years,” commented Alister Coetzee.
The match, pleasant, in any case delighted the Saint-Etienne public. Even if Geoffroy-Guichard’s “cauldron” was not quite full, the more than 35,000 spectators sang olas and chants, including a Marseillaise. The home World Cup has well and truly started, and not just at the Stade de France.
