The second match of the 2023 Rugby World Cup long weekend takes place tomorrow evening, kicking off at 9pm. And in Toulouse, New Zealand and Namibia will take to the field, both lost in their debut matches. Above all, it is time for the All Blacks to change gears.
After a defeat to France that almost jeopardized the possibility of finishing top of Group A (and which in New Zealand has sparked conspiracy theories about a possible “biscuit” between France and Italy on the final day, ed.), the All Blacks now face the poorest team of them all, and to do so, Ian Foster has completely changed the XV holders. Beauden Barrett, Anton Lienert-Brown, Ardie Savea, Dalton Papalii, Sam Whitelock and Nepo Laulala remain on the field, while the rest of the cast are rotated.
On the other hand, Namibia changes less for one of the matches where they arrive with less chance of success.. The heavy defeat to Italy confirmed the clear gap between the Africans and their group rivals, and for Allister Coetzee’s boys the real key match will be the match against Uruguay. But that doesn’t mean they won’t want to leave Toulouse with their heads held high.
NEW ZEALAND-NAMIBIA
New Zealand: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Caleb Clarke, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 David Havili, 11 Leicester Faingaanuku, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Cam Roygard, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Dalton Papalii, 6 Luke Jacobson, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Samisoni Taukeiaho, 1 Ofa Tuungafasi
On the bench: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Ethan de Groot, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Tupou Vaai, 21 Aaron Smith, 22 Richie Mo’unga, 23 Rieko Ioane
Namibia: 15 Cliven Loubser, 14 Gerswin Mouton, 13 Johan Deysel, 12 Le Roux Malan 11 Diwan Rossouw, 10 Tian Swanepoel, 9 Damian Stevens, 8 Richard Hardwick, 7 Prince Gaoseb, 6 Vian Conradie, 5 Thuy Ouaniwi, 4 Johan Retief, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Thorsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Jason Benade
On the bench: 16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Desiderius Sethi, 18 Haitembu Shifuka, 19 P.J. Van Lill, 20 Adrian Booysen, 21 Max Katjieko, 22 Jacques Theron, 23 JC Grayling
Photo: LaPress