2019 Rugby World Cup
South Africa vs Namibia
28 September 2019
City of Toyota Stadium, Toyota
Springboks head coach (director of rugby) Rassie Erasmus is expecting an improved performance form Namibia when the two Southern African nations lock horns in a Group B clash in at the
2019 Rugby World Cup in Toyota on Saturday. Kick-off is at 11h45.
Image Source: thesouthafrican.com
South Africa have faced their African neighbours on two previous occasions, registering convincing wins on both occasions.
Erasmus, though, has predicted a much closer game as the two-time champions aim to bounce back from the 23-13 loss they suffered to New Zealand last weekend.
Image Source: rugbypass.com
"Every match is a must-win game for us now and we are treating this match with the same level of preparation as we did New Zealand last week," said Erasmus.
"This is a Springbok team that is hungry to play and show what they can do and the majority of them have had the chance to play as a combination together a couple of times this season.
"They’ve got an important job to do: you always lose momentum in a defeat and we need to regain that with a victory and a strong performance."
The Springboks overpowered Namibia 105-13 at Newlands in Cape Town in preparation for the 2007 World Cup in France, before trumping the Welwitschias 87-0 at the world showpiece in New Zealand eight years ago.
"Already we’ve seen that the Tier 2 nations are increasingly competitive in this tournament," Erasmus added.
"Namibia held Italy to a 25-point margin in their opening match and scored three tries in making Italy scrap all the way.
"There’s no denying, we’ll start as favourites but we’ll get a helluva shock if we think that’s enough to win the game," he concluded.
Springboks Squad:
15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Schalk Brits (captain), 7 Kwagga Smith, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Steven Kitshoff, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Eben Etzebeth, 19 Siya Kolisi, 20 Franco Mostert, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Damian de Allende, 23 Cheslin Kolbe
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